News Summary

• Voluntary buyouts are having a moment in Big Tech.
• Workers at Google recently pressed the search giant to make the exit offers a standard first step whenever it plans job cuts.
• Microsoft, meanwhile, launched its first broad voluntary retirement program this past spring.
• The developments are raising broader questions in tech, where many once-scrappy startups are now sprawling corporations.
• "Buyouts are becoming increasingly compelling for older Silicon Valley companies," said Laszlo Bock, a former Google head of human resources.