Meta, Google offering these free services to employees in voluntary exit program

Leaving a high-paying job at a major technology company may not sound like an easy decision. But Google, Meta and Microsoft are giving some employees a financial cushion to make that move, with offers that include months of salary, paid time off to plan their next career move and other forms of assistance.The benefits differ from company to company and are available only to selected employees. However, the program have something in common that they give workers an opportunity to exit voluntarily while the companies reconsider how their teams should look in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).What Google is offering employeesGoogle has extended its voluntary departure scheme to employees in five more countries - Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. The program was expanded in June, according to a company statement to Reuters.For employees in Switzerland, the financial offer is particularly significant. Those who accepted the package were offered one month's salary for every year they had worked at Google. The payment was capped at 12 months' salary, regardless of how long an employee had served. The company reportedly began communicating the offer in June, with employees receiving decisions on their applications by mid-July. Departures started in August. The program covered multiple teams, although Google's AI research division DeepMind was excluded.Google has previously offered similar voluntary exit options to selected employees in the US and the UK. The company says these program are intended to support its future priorities.Meta is offering months of paid career transition leave Meta's reported offer in France goes beyond a standard severance payment. According to French publication La Lettre, the company is considering the departure of around 100 employees from its French workforce of approximately 300 people.The proposed package includes compensation equivalent to 2.15 months of salary for every year of service. Employees would also get 10 months of career transition leave, during which they would receive 80 per cent of their gross salary. The support reportedly does not end with the salary payments. Meta is also said to be offering help with professional retraining and setting up a business.The proposed program is being negotiated through a collective agreement, with November 5 set as the application deadline. Meta's French subsidiary has not commented on the report.Microsoft is also letting employees goMicrosoft's voluntary exit program is also available in India. Announced on October 26 by Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, the Voluntary Exit Offer (VEO) gives eligible employees an opportunity to leave the company with financial assistance and career planning resources.The program covers selected employees at level 70 and below in participating teams across India, Canada, the UK and the US. It is not a company-wide offer, and individual organisations can decide whether to participate depending on their business requirements. Microsoft has not publicly specified the exact financial payout under this program. Eligible employees are being sent details directly by email.Why are tech companies offering voluntary exits?The departure offers come as technology companies spend heavily to compete in AI. Building data centres, buying computing equipment and hiring specialised AI professionals require substantial investments. At the same time, companies are looking to control expenses in other parts of their businesses.Meta, for instance, is planning capital expenditure of $135 billion to $145 billion in 2026, with much of the money expected to go towards AI infrastructure and data centres. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also been pushing the company to make greater use of AI, with the aim of allowing smaller teams to handle work that previously needed larger groups.Google, too, has identified AI and cloud computing as important areas for hiring and investment. Microsoft has introduced its latest voluntary exit offer after also running a voluntary retirement program earlier this year.- Ends