At a recent all-hands meeting, Google revealed it has reduced its pool of managers overseeing very small teams—those with fewer than three members—by about 35% in the past year. The restructuring aims to streamline operations, reduce bureaucracy, and boost productivity, with many managers transitioning into individual contributor roles.
Brian Welle, Google’s vice president of people analytics and performance, explained:
“Right now, we have 35% fewer managers, with fewer direct reports than at this time a year ago.”
Welle added that the company wants managers, directors, and VPs to represent a smaller share of the overall workforce going forward.
Voluntary Exit Program expands
Alongside management restructuring, Google has broadened its Voluntary Exit Program (VEP) across 10 product areas, including search, marketing, hardware, and people operations. According to chief people officer Fiona Cicconi, around 3–5% of employees in these divisions have accepted the buyout offers this year.
CEO Sundar Pichai described the initiative as a more humane alternative to mass layoffs, stressing that buyouts “give people agency” to decide their future.
Pichai’s vision for efficiency
Pichai told employees that as Google continues to scale, the focus must shift from headcount growth to operational efficiency and performance. By cutting unnecessary management layers and offering buyouts, the company seeks to create a leaner structure that accelerates decision-making and innovation.
This strategy comes amid a broader wave of cost-cutting and restructuring across the tech industry, where efficiency and productivity are being prioritized over unchecked expansion.
