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Last January,Film noir Archives Google laid off hundreds of employees. Now, as January 2025 draws to a close, Google is cutting workers in a slightly different manner.

Google SVP of Devices and Services Rick Osterloh sent a memo to members of Google's Platform & Devices team offering voluntary buyouts, 9to5Google reported. Employees who choose to take the buyouts will receive some sort of severance package, but 9to5Google's reporting didn't include hard details on what exactly would be offered to those workers. It's also unknown if Google is looking to shed a certain number of workers at this time.

It should be noted that this isn't a company-wide offer. It only applies to Platforms & Services, a new division created just last year that combined the previously separate teams behind software like Android and Chrome with the people who make hardware like Pixel phones and Nest devices. Those who work on things like Google search and the company's growing AI efforts are apparently safe.

While offering voluntary severance is inarguably more humane than simply axing hundreds of people, the end result is the same: Google's hardware and software team is about to get smaller, which might mean more work piled onto fewer people.

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