YouTube Restructures Around AI with Voluntary Employee Buyouts in Major Reorganization

YouTube is offering employees buyouts as part of an AI-focused reorganization

As part of an AI-focused reorganization, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told employees that it will offer voluntary buyouts, according to an internal company memo. At the same time, he emphasized that there would be no specific role eliminations as part of new structure. "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 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." The restructuring is designed to help YouTube focus on fast-growing areas like AI while "driving faster decision making and execution," the memo states. To that end, the platform is organizing into three separate product organizations: viewer products, creator and community products, and subscription products. Viewer products will focus on the viewer experience by making improvements to search & discovery, engagement, the living room experience and "our foundation of responsibility." Creator and community products, meanwhile, is "driving creation through genAI tools, Shorts, Live and creator support. Subscription products, as you'd expect, will operate around subscription growth across Music, Premium and OTT (YouTube TV) platforms. Mohan noted that YouTube has been the number one streamer in the US for the last two years. So far, it has signed up 125 million Premium and Music subscribers, along with 8 million YouTube TV subs. The platform has paid out $100 billion to its ecosystem (presumably, creators and recording artists). YouTube isn't the only tech giant reducing headcount while citing AI as an impetus. Amazon recently announced that it had laid off 14,000 people, while citing the need to be "lean" due to transformative technology like AI. Meanwhile, YouTube parent Alphabet announced its first-ever $100 billion quarter, largely on the strength of cloud services and search.

YouTube offers voluntary buyouts as company reorganizes around AI

A Youtube podcast microphone is seen at the Variety Podcasting Brunch Presented By YouTube at Austin Proper Hotel in Austin, Texas, on March 8, 2025. YouTube is offering voluntary buyouts with severance for U.S.-based employees as it restructures its product organization to focus more on artificial intelligence. The move comes as Google CEO Sundar Pichai pushes employees to boost productivity by using AI across the company. In an internal memo to staff, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said the platform is reorganizing its product teams for the first time in a decade. "Looking to the future, the next frontier for YouTube is AI," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. The reorganization was first reported by Alex Heath at Sources. YouTube said no roles are being eliminated as part of the change. Under the new structure, three product groups will now report directly to Mohan. Christian Oestlien, previously vice president of product management, will lead the subscription products division, which oversees YouTube Music and Premium, YouTube TV, Primetime Channels, Podcasts and Commerce. Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich will lead the viewer products team, which covers YouTube's main app, Living Room, Search and Discovery, YouTube Kids, Learning and Trust and Safety. Companies across the tech industry are reshaping their workforces as they adapt to rapid advances in AI while also reckoning with other challenges, like higher costs from tariffs. On Tuesday, Amazon announced plans to lay off about 14,000 corporate employees as it invests in AI initiatives.

YouTube to Offer Voluntary Buyouts to Employees Amid AI Disruption

Pioneering Cable Mogul John Malone to Step Down from Board of Liberty Media Empire, Move to Chairman Emeritus Role YouTube continues to be a dominant force in advertising and entertainment, but the disruption from generative artificial intelligence spares no company. In a memo to staff Wednesday, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan cited the disruption and opportunity of AI as a reason to restructure the video platform, with the executive creating a new reporting structure for the company's product teams, and rolling out a voluntary employee buyout program, offering severance to any YouTubers that may want to leave the company. A source notes that no roles are being eliminated as part of the changes, though voluntary separation programs can sometimes serve as a prelude to cuts later on. The decision to offer buyouts comes the same week that Amazon announced plans to reduce its workforce by 14,000 jobs, citing AI disruption. Going forward YouTube will have three product organizations, with the top executive from each reporting directly to Mohan. Subscription products will be led by Christian Oestlien and include oversight of YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, Primetime Channels and other business lines; Viewer products, led by Johanna Voolich, which will focus on the YouTube mobile and living room apps, trust & safety, YouTube Kids, search infrastructure and other key areas; and creator and community products, which will be focused on supporting creators, including through YouTube Shorts and its generative AI tools. YouTube is expected to bring in a new leader for that organization. In his memo, Mohan cited AI as the "next frontier" for YouTube. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for this month's cover story about YouTube, Mohan explained why he thinks AI will ultimately work in service of human creators. "I do think creation is an area where AI will help enormously by making the process easier, by making it more efficient faster, and also by making it more powerful. In that sense, my sort of vision around AI is it's AI in service of human creativity, it really empowers human creativity," Mohan said. "If you're working in the scripted space and you need a particular background or you have a particular sequence, well AI can help you in multiple ways. It can help you ideate about what that script should be. It can help you create the background. It can help you -- as you saw last week -- actually add content to the video that you've created right the camera. The YouTube chief added, "I think we are in the very early days of those types of possibilities, and my hope is that it will create a lot more opportunity for that entire supply chain of creation, not just the creators at the top."

Can AI Save YouTube? CEO Banks on Biggest Restructuring Since 2015

YouTube Restructures Around Artificial Intelligence, Rolls Out Voluntary Exit Plan for Employees YouTube has announced a major organizational restructuring in alignment with its future in artificial intelligence. Unveiling a voluntary exit plan for employees, Chief Executive Officer Neal Mohan said the company is reorienting its product teams to drive innovation on artificial intelligence. The restructuring, effective November 5, 2025, will be the most significant at YouTube in nearly a decade. In a memo to the staff, Mohan said AI would be central to YouTube's next phase of growth, powering everything from content discovery to . "AI will make creation easier, faster, and more powerful, empowering human creativity," he said.