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Image Credits:Google / Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of hardware at Google
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Google SVP Rick Osterloh issued an internal memo to the Pixel / Android / Chrome team Thursday , announcing a “ voluntary exit program . ” TechCrunch has confirmed the letter ’s existence with the caller , after it was first reported by9 to 5 Google .
In a statement to TechCrunch , a voice mark :
The Platforms & Devices squad is offer a voluntary issue program that allow for US - establish Googlers working on this team the power to voluntarily depart the ship’s company with a rift package . This comes after we institute two big organizations together last year . There ’s tremendous impulse on this team and with so much important work ahead , we require everyone to be deep charge to our mission and focused on building great products , with focal ratio and efficiency .
The voluntary severance program arrives just under a year after Google unite the Android , Pixel ironware , and Chrome teams into a single“Platform and Devices”division , manage by Osterloh .
The executive director noted in April that the re - org was a play to integrate the company ’s AI offerings more deeply into its products . In the intervening month , Google ’s procreative AI weapons platform , Gemini , has grow into an outsized bearing among its computer hardware and software oblation .
Gemini take marrow stage in the first place this month as Samsung bring out its flagshipGalaxy S25smartphone . The service has also been primal to Google ’s own ironware machine , in effect replacing the Home Assistant on Pixel products . Google Home , meanwhile , continues to bring a role in the company ’s Nest line of fresh menage hardware .
The way out program apply to a wide range of Google offerings , including Android , Chrome / ChromeOS , Fitbit , Google One , Nest , Photos , and Pixel . Other large Google class , admit AI and lookup , are not direct bear upon .
Word of God of the memo followsAmazon ’s confirmationthat it laid off tons of employee across its communications and corporal duty sectionalisation on Wednesday .
