Google is Now Offering Voluntary Buyouts to Employees in Canada

Google has quietly expanded its voluntary exit and severance program to workers in Canada and several other international markets, offering buyouts to eligible employees to manage escalating costs tied to its massive AI investments, Reuters reports.

According to confirmation given by the company, the voluntary buyout initiative was expanded globally back in June, covering selected employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. These latest international offers build on similar voluntary separation programs previously introduced across select divisions in the U.S. and the U.K.

The tech giant has faced mounting pressure from Wall Street regarding the massive financial outlays required to build out data centers, train large language models, and scale generative artificial intelligence infrastructure. Major technology firms are increasingly looking for ways to streamline their operations and manage headcount costs. Competitors have made similar moves, with companies like Microsoft also rolling out large-scale voluntary buyout programs to control overhead.

A spokesperson for Google noted that certain internal teams first introduced a voluntary exit program with severance back in 2025. The company later chose to scale the initiative into a few international countries over the summer to support its long-term strategic direction.

While the total number of employees who have accepted the voluntary offers remains undisclosed, specific local details have emerged from international hubs. In Switzerland, where Google employs roughly 5,000 workers primarily at its major engineering center in Zurich, employees were given a one-month window to apply after being notified in mid-June.

Departures from the Swiss offices began as early as August. Eligible employees who opted into the program received severance terms amounting to one month of salary for every year they worked at the company, capped at a maximum of 12 months of pay.