Google’s U.S.-Only Buyouts: A Betrayal of American Workers
Google has recently begun offering voluntary buyouts to employees across its U.S.-based teams — including those in Search, Ads, Engineering, and Research. The company frames this as part of a broader restructuring to focus on artificial intelligence (AI), but the reality feels far more calculated and discriminatory.
The question that keeps me awake at night is simple: Why are these buyouts only offered to U.S. employees? After 15 years with this company, watching colleagues in London, Bangalore, and Dublin continue their work while we’re being shown the door, it’s impossible not to feel singled out.
The Timing Couldn’t Be More Insulting
Just days before these buyouts were quietly rolled out, CEO Sundar Pichai stood before cameras and boldly announced that Google plans to hire more developers. The audacity of this timing is breathtaking. While Pichai was painting a picture of growth and opportunity to the world, HR departments across American offices were already preparing severance packages.
I’ve witnessed this contradiction firsthand. As a Google engineer who also serves as an interviewer, I’ve been getting assigned interviews for new graduates even as I received my own voluntary exit package email. The irony is staggering — Google wants me to evaluate new talent while simultaneously encouraging me to leave.
Think about this: Your CEO is promising the world more jobs while simultaneously encouraging you to leave yours. If that doesn’t feel like betrayal, I don’t know what does.
This isn’t just poor communication — it’s deliberate misdirection. The company knew exactly what message they wanted the public to hear, and it had nothing to do with the reality facing American workers. We’ve become the sacrificial lambs in Google’s PR strategy.
The Real Strategy: This Is Pure Offshoring
Let me be blunt about what these buyouts really represent: this is 100% an offshoring play. The corporate speak about “AI transformation” is just cover for what’s actually happening — cutting highly paid American workers and replacing them with cheaper talent abroad.
The strategy is transparent once you understand it: Offshoring + cutting from teams that aren’t developing AI research, while adding more ML researchers and engineers throughout the global organization. But here’s the key detail they don’t advertise — those new ML positions aren’t going to American workers.
The Geographic Question Nobody Wants to Answer
When Sundar promised to hire more developers, the critical question he didn’t answer was: in which country? Because while American workers are being offered exit packages, Google is aggressively expanding its workforce in India, Dublin, and other lower-cost locations.
The India Strategy: A Decades-Long Plan Coming to Fruition
Let’s be brutally honest about what’s happening here. Google has been systematically building its Indian operations for over a decade, and these buyouts are the final phase of a carefully orchestrated transition.
The numbers don’t lie:
- Google India has grown from a few hundred employees to over 5,000+
- New massive campuses in Bangalore and Hyderabad
- Entire product teams relocated to India over the past 3 years
- Executive positions increasingly filled by Indian nationals
Meanwhile, we’re being offered “voluntary” buyouts. The writing isn’t just on the wall — it’s painted in bright red letters.
The Complexity Problem That Enables This Transition
What many people outside Google don’t understand is how incredibly complex our systems have become. As someone who’s worked here for years, I can attest that the codebase, projects, processes, and approval chains are mind-bogglingly complicated. You probably have no idea how difficult it is to ship even simple changes unless you’re already at the top of the management chain.
This complexity isn’t accidental — it’s what makes the knowledge transfer to India possible and profitable. When systems are so complex that they require months of training to understand, it becomes economically viable to invest in that training for workers who cost 80% less. The complexity that once protected American jobs has become the very mechanism enabling our replacement.
Training Our Own Replacements
The most insulting part? Many of us have spent years mentoring, training, and knowledge-transferring to our Indian colleagues. We’ve been unwitting participants in our own replacement. That cheerful “knowledge sharing session” with the Bangalore team? That was your job interview — for them, not you.
I’ve personally conducted dozens of “cross-training” sessions over the past two years. At the time, I thought I was being a good global citizen, sharing knowledge across teams. Now I realize I was systematically documenting and transferring everything needed to eliminate my own position.
The Human Cost: Real Stories Behind the Statistics
Behind every buyout offer is a real person with real responsibilities. I’ve watched colleagues with mortgages, aging parents, and children’s college funds agonize over these decisions. The stress of wondering whether staying means being part of future “right-sizing” is taking a toll on everyone.
Sarah, a 12-year veteran in our Ads team, told me last week: “I built the system they’re using to target ads to billions of people, and now they’re targeting me for elimination. The irony isn’t lost on me.”
Meanwhile, her counterpart in Google’s Dublin office continues working on the same projects, with the same responsibilities, enjoying the same job security she once had. The only difference? Geography and labor laws.
The Severance Package: A Golden Handcuff
For those wondering about the financial details, the severance packages are substantial but calculated. I’m looking at 14 weeks plus 1 week per year at Google — which for someone like me amounts to 26 weeks of pay. It’s designed to feel generous while actually being a bargain for Google.
Think about it: they’re paying 6 months of salary to eliminate positions that would have cost them years of ongoing compensation. It’s expensive in the short term but saves millions in the long run, especially when those roles get filled in India at a fraction of the cost.
The Gambling Decision: Stay or Go?
The voluntary nature of these buyouts creates a cruel psychological game. People are essentially gambling: take the buyout money now, or risk surviving potential layoffs later but make no mistake — more cuts are coming.
The smartest employees I know are taking the packages and immediately interviewing at other FAANG companies. Some are effectively earning two salaries for 14+ weeks while they transition. But this strategy only works if you’re confident about landing another high-paying role quickly.
