YouTube offers 'buyout' option to employees; read CEO Neal Mohan's memo to employees

YouTube is now offering voluntary buyouts to select employees as part of an internal reorganisation which is aimed at accelerating its push into artificial intelligence. As reported by Business Insider, the decision was announced by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan in an internal memo. This move from YouTube comes at a time when the company is working on restructuring its product teams into three distinct divisions: Viewer Products, Creator & Community Products, and Subscription Products—each reporting directly to Mohan. The reorganization is set to take effect on November 5, and no layoffs are planned.

“Looking to the future, the next frontier for YouTube is AI, which has the potential to transform every part of the platform,” Mohan wrote. “We need to set ourselves up to make the most of this opportunity.”





The internal memo also revealed that there will be no job cuts and Mohan also acknowledged that some of the employees may be ready for a new challenge. As a result, YouTube is launching a Voluntary Exit Program for eligible U.S.-based staff in his direct-reporting organization. Participants will receive a severance package, with more details to be shared in a separate communication. This offer comes amid a broader wave of workforce changes across the tech industry, many driven by the shift toward AI.

Read YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s complete memo here

Hi YouTubers,

Over the last 20 years, YouTube has grown from a scrappy video-sharing site into one of the world's largest streaming platforms. Our success has been built on big, bold bets that have paid off year after year, from launching the YouTube Partner Program to investing in the Living Room. Today, those investments have created a thriving business: we've paid over $100B to our ecosystem, secured our position as the #1 streamer in the US for over two years, and built a subscriptions engine with over 125 million M+P and 8M YouTube TV subscribers.

Looking to the future, the next frontier for YouTube is AI, which has the potential to transform every part of the platform. We need to set ourselves up to make the most of this opportunity. That means ensuring every fast-growing area gets the focus and investment it needs to succeed, building deeper expertise behind our core businesses, and driving faster decision making and execution. To do that, we are creating three separate Product organizations that will report directly to me:

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• li1Viewer Products: This team will focus on the viewer experience, including improvements to Search & Discovery, accelerating growth in the Living Room, increasing engagement with our strategic audiences, investing in our world-class infrastructure, and continuing to build on our foundation of responsibility. This team will be led by Johanna. It will bring together CoreX, Living Room, Infrastructure, and Trust & Safety and will be split across three pillars led by Emily, Jennie, and Woojin.
• li1Creator & Community Products: This team will focus on driving creation through GenAI tools, Shorts, Live, and supporting creators of all sizes. It will also focus on building community across the platform. It will bring together Creator, led by Amjad, and EMCO, led by Toni. We will open a search to find a leader of this team, and Johanna will lead in the interim.
• li1Subscription Products: This team will focus on driving our subscriptions growth across Music & Premium and OTT to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity in this space. This team will be led by Christian and will bring together Music, led by T.Jay; Premium, Commerce, and Nitrate, led by Will; and OTT, for which we will hire a new leader.

I am also pleased to announce that JT will take on an expanded role, as the head of UX. In addition, the UX org will move under Scott. Engineering and UX are both teams which work horizontally across the organization, and we believe that by bringing these teams together, they can both benefit from scaled processes and best practices. Shopping, led by Travis, will continue to report to Scott.

These changes will take effect on November 5. There are no role eliminations as part of this reorganization. You can view the updated org chart here. Aparna, Mary Ellen, Matt and Shachar will continue leading their teams, reporting directly to me.

It's an incredibly exciting time at YouTube and many opportunities and challenges lie ahead. But we also understand some of you may be ready for a new challenge, so we've decided now is the right time to offer a Voluntary Exit Program. Starting today, eligible US YouTubers in my direct-reporting org have the ability to voluntarily leave with a severance package. US YouTubers will receive more details in a separate note.

I have never been more excited about the future of YouTube. We have grown in size, scope and complexity over the years, but our core leadership structure has not evolved in a decade. I believe that these changes will set us up well to continue our success.

- Neal