獨家：Google 將自願買斷方案擴大至多國員工

瑪琳・凱瑟比爾（Marleen Kaesebier）和肯里克・蔡（Kenrick Cai）報導By Marleen Kaesebier and Kenrick Cai

蘇黎世，11月4日（路透社）——Alphabet 旗下 Google 今年已將員工買斷方案擴大至多個國家；在人工智慧支出龐大之際，該公司試圖抑制不斷上升的成本。ZURICH, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google has expanded employee buyout offers to several countries this year as it looks to rein in rising costs amid heavy spending on artificial intelligence.

這家搜尋引擎公司向路透社證實，6月開始向加拿大、法國、德國、日本和瑞士部分員工提供自願離職方案。The search engine company confirmed to Reuters that it began offering voluntary exit packages in June to some employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland.

路透社無法確認有多少員工接受了這一輪最新方案；該方案先前未曾被報導。Reuters could not determine how many employees have accepted the latest round of offers, which had not previously been reported.

Google 發言人在聲明中表示：「2025年，我們一些團隊推出了附帶資遣費的自願離職計畫。」「今年夏天6月，我們將這項計畫在全球幾個國家擴大實施，以支持我們未來的重要工作。」"In 2025, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. "This past summer, in June, we expanded this program globally in a few countries to support our important work ahead."

這項舉措出現之際，不斷增加的 AI 支出已令華爾街不安，並拖累 Alphabet 股價。Microsoft 上週向6萬名員工提出自願買斷方案，試圖控制成本。The move comes amid mounting AI spending that has unnerved Wall Street and dented Alphabet's stock price. Microsoft last week offered voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees in an effort to contain costs.

Alphabet 近幾季員工人數穩定增加，但該公司一直試圖將資源轉向優先領域。Alphabet's workforce has grown steadily in recent quarters, but it has sought to shift resources toward priority areas.

這一輪最新買斷方案之前，該公司自去年以來已向美國和英國部分部門員工提供自願離職計畫。高層主管曾形容，這項計畫是提供給不再認同公司步調或方向的員工的一個選項。The latest buyouts follow voluntary exit programs offered since last year to employees in some divisions in the US and Britain. Executives have described the program as an option for employees who no longer feel aligned with the company's pace or direction.

至少有一個案例顯示，該公司在向某個部門提出自願離職方案後，又進行了一輪裁員。In at least one case, the company followed its voluntary offers to a division with a round of layoffs.

財務長安娜特・阿什克納齊（Anat Ashkenazi）在季度財報簡報中，多次強調 AI 和雲端運算是關鍵徵才優先事項。Google Cloud 和 AI 部門 DeepMind 的員工過去未被納入買斷方案。Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi has repeatedly highlighted AI and cloud computing as key hiring priorities in quarterly earnings presentations. Employees in Google Cloud and AI unit DeepMind have been excluded from past buyout offers.

最新一波擴大實施似乎也遵循相同模式。The latest expansion appears to follow the same pattern.

瑞士SWITZERLAND

在瑞士，Google 雇用約5,000人，並在蘇黎世設有一個重要工程中心。3名知情人士表示，這項計畫涵蓋多個部門，但不包括 DeepMind。In Switzerland, where Google employs about 5,000 people and has a major engineering hub in Zurich, three people familiar with the matter said the program covered multiple divisions but excluded DeepMind.

這些人士表示，Google 在當地提供自願離職方案後，員工已於8月開始離職。Employees began leaving in August after Google offered voluntary exit packages in the country, the people said.

他們說，Google 於6月中旬宣布這些方案，並在7月中旬前回覆提出申請的員工。接受方案的員工每服務滿一年可獲得一個月薪資，最高以12個月為限。Google announced the packages in mid-June and gave responses by mid-July to employees who applied, they said. Staff who accepted received one month's salary for each year of service, up to a maximum of 12 months.

一名人士表示，在一個約50人的團隊中，至少有4名員工接受了該方案。One person said at least four employees in a team of about 50 had accepted the offer.

Google 於2023年在瑞士裁撤逾200名員工，引發員工抗議和罷工。Google laid off more than 200 employees in Switzerland in 2023, prompting staff protests and a walkout.

（瑪琳・凱瑟比爾蘇黎世、肯里克・蔡舊金山報導；辛西亞・奧斯特曼和馬克・波特編輯）(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Zurich and Kenrick Cai in San Francisco. Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Mark Potter)