Alphabet Inc.’s Google is undergoing significant workforce reductions, affecting hundreds of employees across its digital assistant, hardware, and engineering teams. The move is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations and cut costs.
The layoffs encompass workers involved in the development of the voice-based Google Assistant and those contributing to the augmented reality hardware team. Additionally, staff within the company’s central engineering organization are facing job cuts as well.
A spokesperson from Google acknowledged the changes, stating, “Throughout the second half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities.” The spokesperson continued, “Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.”
Initial reports of the layoffs surfaced with Semafor highlighting the impact on the Google Assistant team, while 9to5Google reported the reorganization within the hardware team. Affected employees are being informed about the changes and will be provided with the opportunity to apply for available positions elsewhere within Google.
The Alphabet Workers Union, representing some Google employees, criticized the job cuts in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter). The group expressed discontent, stating, “Our members and teammates work hard every day to build great products for our users, and the company cannot continue to fire our coworkers while making billions every quarter.” The union pledged to continue advocating for job security, declaring, “We won’t stop fighting until our jobs are safe!”
Google’s decision to trim its workforce comes amid ongoing organizational shifts and strategic adjustments to prioritize major product initiatives. The company is navigating these changes as it seeks to enhance efficiency and focus resources on key areas of innovation.
Sources By Agencies
