Google is offering a "voluntary exit program" and severance to a division of employees based in California who aren't "deeply committed" to the company's mission of building "great products," 9to5Google first reported.
Workers in Google's Platforms and Devices division based in Mountain View, California, were informed of the option on Thursday, according to the report.
"The Platforms & Devices team is offering a voluntary exit program that provides US-based Googlers working on this team the ability to voluntarily leave the company with a severance package. … There's tremendous momentum on this team and with so much important work ahead, we want everyone to be deeply committed to our mission and focused on building great products, with speed and efficiency," read the memo from Senior Vice President Rick Osterloh, according to the report.
A company spokesperson confirmed the existence of the opportunity to quit and earn a severance package to SFGate but would not say if it was in response to demands made by the Alphabet Workers Union that Google offer buyouts before enacting layoffs.
Alan McAvinney, a Google software engineer and chair of the union, told SFGate the program was a small step in the right direction.
"We are happy to see material progress in response to our concerns," McAvinney said in a statement to SFGate. "But we continue to demand that Google commit to practices like offers of voluntary buyouts and fair terms of severance by codifying them in its actual written policies."
The Platforms and Devices group was created last year. The team handles Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Google Photos, Google One, Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest products.
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