Google expanded its return-to-office mandate and offered voluntary buyouts for some US-based employees on Tuesday, according to an internal memo viewed by Business Insider.
Employees on Google’s Core, Marketing, Research, Knowledge & Information (K&I), and Communications teams all received the buyout offers. K&I includes teams working on Search, ads and commerce.
The return-to-office requirement expands the company’s 2022 RTO mandate, which asked some US-based teams to come into the office 3 days a week, while still offering “work from anywhere” weeks.
The company will now require all remote employees on affected teams who live within 50 miles of an office to return to the office on a hybrid schedule.
“Earlier this year, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance for US-based Googlers, and several more are now offering the program to support our important work ahead,” Courtenay Mencini, a Google spokesperson, told Business Insider in a statement. “A number of teams are also asking remote employees who live near an office to return to a hybrid work schedule in order to bring folks more together in-person.”
Business Insider could not immediately confirm how many Google employees would be affected by the buyout offer or expanded return-to-office mandate.
In 2023, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the company was laying off around 12,000 staff, or 6% of its global workforce, in sweeping cuts across its product areas and regional teams.
Google conducted additional rounds of layoffs in 2024, affecting its Treasury, Business Services, and Revenue Cash Operations teams.
It’s unknown if the latest buyout offers mean more layoffs are coming. Earlier this year Google offered buyouts for staff in its Pixel and Android unit. It had layoffs in that same division a few weeks later.
Below is the full memo sent to Google employees on Tuesday by Jen Fitzpatrick, the Senior Vice President of Core Systems at Google.
Hi everyone, As I mentioned at The Source last month, there’s a ton of exciting and important work for us here in Core, especially as AI is reshaping everything – our products, our tools, the way we work, how we work, how we innovate and so on. To meet this transformational moment, we need everyone to show up with an unparalleled sense of energy and enthusiasm for Core’s mission, connecting and collaborating at speed so that we can tackle all of the ambitious work we need to do. In support of these goals, we’re introducing two programs today for US-based Core Googlers: We’re offering a Voluntary Exit Program (VEP) for Core Googlers in the US (in my reporting org). We’ve seen positive feedback across the company in other orgs who have offered similar programs, and I wanted to extend the same option to eligible Core Googlers in the US who would like to leave the company voluntarily with severance. The Voluntary Exit Program may be a fit Core Googlers who aren’t feeling excited about and aligned with Core’s mission and goals, or those who are having difficulty meeting the demands of their role. Additionally, how we work today is more flexible than it’s ever been with our 3/2 hybrid work policy. But when it comes to connection, collaboration, and moving quickly to innovate together, there’s just no substitute for coming together in person. In Core, we believe that having more Googlers in the office collaborating and innovating together while building community and connection that supports our culture is an important part of our success as an org, and as a company. That’s why we’re updating our work location policy for local remote Core Googlers in the US and asking all US-based Core Googlers who are remote and live within 50 miles of an approved return site (“local remote”) for Core to transfer back to a return site on a 3/2 hybrid schedule. We want to ensure Core Googlers are fully committed to being here and actively contributing. These programs will help us be even more focused on our mission and will enable us to operate with greater velocity, efficiency and collaboration. To be clear, this isn’t about reducing the number of people in Core. We will use this opportunity to create internal mobility and fresh growth opportunities for Core Googlers. We’ll follow up with VEP details for all eligible US Core Googlers, and location transfer information for US Remote Googlers meeting the criteria above shortly. We have a huge opportunity ahead of us – to deliver on our mission to make Google work better for everyone, and at scale – and to do so in a moment of transformational innovation. Let’s stay focused, work hard, and build on the incredible momentum underway. Jen
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