- Google announced layoffs across multiple teams including engineering, hardware, and Assistant in an effort to increase efficiency and align with key priorities
- The cuts follow previous workforce reductions in 2022 as Google shifts focus to AI developments like Bard and Gemini to compete with other tech companies
- The Alphabet Workers Union criticized the layoffs as “needless” given Alphabet’s continued strong financial performance
Google announced layoffs across the company on Wednesday night, cutting several hundred jobs as part of an effort to increase efficiency and align resources with key product priorities.
Details of the Layoffs
The layoffs impacted employees in Google‘s hardware, engineering, and Assistant teams. Other parts of the company were also affected, according to Google.
The cuts are the latest in a series of workforce reductions at Google over the past year. In January 2022, Google cut around 12,000 jobs or 6% of its workforce. Further cuts were made to recruiting and Google’s news division later in 2022.
Google’s Focus on AI
The company has shifted focus to prioritize artificial intelligence developments as it competes with Microsoft, Amazon, and others in the space. Google recently launched the chatbot Bard and large language model Gemini.
According to a Google spokesperson, “To best position us for these opportunities 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.”
Criticism of the Layoffs
The Alphabet Workers Union criticized the layoffs, calling them “needless” in a tweet. The group wrote: “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. We won’t stop fighting until our jobs are safe!”
The cuts come as Google’s parent company Alphabet continues to report strong revenue and profit.
