Alphabet has committed a record-breaking $75 billion in capital expenditure for 2025, nearly 30% more than Wall Street expected, handling the bulk of it into AI data centers, custom chips, and next-generation model training. Yet, while investors celebrate, the employees express a different reaction.In June, Google rolled out voluntary exit packages to thousands of employees across Search, Ads, Engineering, Marketing, Research, and Knowledge & Information teams. Eligible staff were offered a minimum of 14 weeks’ severance pay, plus one additional week for every year of service, to leave “in alignment with our AI-first priorities,” according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.Courtenay Mencini, a Google spokesperson, explained the recent ramp-up in office work expectations : “As we’ve said before, in-person collaboration is an important part of how we innovate and solve complex problems. To support this, some teams have asked remote employees living within 50 miles of a campus to return on-site three days a week.”What’s Behind the Voluntary Exit Program?Google’s shift from broad layoffs in 2023 to incentive-backed buyouts reflects CFO Anat Ashkenazi’s push for “deeper cost optimization” to fuel AI ambitions. “Any organization can always push a little further,” Ashkenazi remarked during her first earnings call, underscoring the need to reallocate resources swiftly.Employees Sound the AlarmDespite no announced mass cuts, an engineer in Google Ads lamented to Business Insider, “We’re being squeezed quietly. Perks are disappearing, but no one will say what comes next.” Anonymous surveys reportedly show a double-digit drop in satisfaction since the start of the year.Google’s AI dream remains vast, from Gemini upgrades to custom silicon, but will it take in consideration the actual people working under the company