‘The Platforms & Devices team is offering a voluntary exit program that provides U.S.-based Googlers working on this team the ability to voluntarily leave the company with a severance package,’ says a Google spokesperson.
U.S.-based Google employees—who work on everything from Android software and ChromeOS to Pixel and Chromebooks—have been offered a voluntary exit program as the company seeks resignations in its newly created Platforms & Devices team.
The news comes as the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to potentially force Google to divest its Chrome and Android businesses due to monopolization allegations.
“The Platforms & Devices team is offering a voluntary exit program that provides U.S.-based Googlers working on this team the ability to voluntarily leave the company with a severance package,” said a Google spokesperson who confirmed the exit program.
“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.”
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The voluntary exit program is targeting U.S. workers who specifically work under Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of Platforms & Devices at Google.
What’s Inside Google’s Platforms And Devices Unit And Who Is Impacted?
Google’s voluntary exit program applies to employees who work on offerings including Android, ChromeOS, Chromebooks, Fitbit, Google One, Nest, Google Photos and Pixel.
The program comes after Google merged its Chrome and Android groups together in 2024.
“This comes after we brought two large organizations together last year,” said the Google spokesperson.
At the time, Google executives said the merger would streamline its approach to integrating AI features across products and services more quickly.
Google employees who accept their voluntary exit will get a severance package, although exact details were not provided.
Chrome And Android Lawsuit From DOJ
In late 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice officially requested that Google be forced to sell Chrome and potentially Android due to unfair monopoly practices.
“Google has manipulated its control of Chrome and Android to benefit itself, while sharing monopoly profits under conditions to induce third parties across the ecosystem to help Google maintain its monopolies,” said the U.S. DOJ in a November filing in the U.S. District Court of Columbia.
“The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages,” the DOJ said. “To address these challenges, Google must divest Chrome which has fortified [Google’s] dominance.”
Google fired shots back at the DOJ last year, calling the DOJ proposal “staggering.”
“[The] DOJ chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership,” said Google’s Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer. “DOJ’s wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court’s decision. It would break a range of Google products—even beyond Search—that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives.”
The case will officially begin in April 2025.
