YouTube is shifting the focus of its product teams while providing an out for anyone who doesn’t want to go along with the transition. A planned reorganization will split the platform’s product wing into three distinct divisions, all of which will continue to incorporate more generative AI innovations.
As first reported by Sources, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced the forthcoming changes through a memo he issued to his employees. He justified the reorg by claiming that the smaller, separate product teams will be able to take advantage of “faster decision making and execution.”
YouTube’s current Chief Product Officer, Johanna Voolich, will head the team working on “Viewer Products.” Christian Oestlien will be elevated to lead the development of “Subscriptions Products,” and an as-of-yet unhired exec will take charge of the unit assigned to “Creator and Community Products.”
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Mohan explained that the changes will allow YouTube to continue developing AI-powered upgrades across its platform. The promising early results from those tools were a main focus of Alphabet’s earnings report for the third quarter of 2025.
“Looking to the future, the next frontier for YouTube is AI, which has the potential to transform every part of the platform,” Mohan wrote in his memo. “We need to set ourselves up to make the most of this opportunity.”
Mohan acknowledged that some YouTube employees might respond to the reorg by deciding they “may be ready for a new challenge.” To serve those people, YouTube is setting up a Voluntary Exit Program that will offer severance packages to workers who choose to give up their positions.
Previous YouTube reorgs have been relatively rare, but some of the ones that have happened — such as the 2024 reshuffling of YouTube’s creator management teams — have come with layoffs attached. In this instance, however, Mohan said that no roles will be eliminated on the path to the new product division. The only expected departures are the employees who choose to participate in the Voluntary Exit Program.
All three of the new product teams will report directly to Mohan. We’ll see if the YouTube CEO can deliver more efficient operations when the reorg goes into effect on November 5.
