Tech giant Google will reportedly lay off hundreds of employees in a move aimed at bolstering efficiency.
The layoffs will affect employees from the company’s engineering and hardware teams, as well as workers at the company’s voice assistance unit
It’s unclear if Google employees in Singapore were affected by the layoff.
According to CNBC, Google announced on Wednesday (10 Jan) that it will be cutting several hundred jobs as part of efforts to focus on efficiency and its “biggest product priorities.”
Source: Forbes
The layoffs impacted those within the firm’s hardware and central engineering teams. Workers operating under Google Assistant and other parts of the company were also affected.
Google confirmed the move in a statement to blog 9to5Google, adding that it plans on reorganising its Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit divisions.
While the divisions previously had independent teams handling issues such as hardware engineering and software, they would now adopt a functional organisation model. For instance, only one team would be responsible for hardware engineering across the three departments.
9to5Google reported that Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman, along with other Fitbit leaders, are departing Google due to this reorganisation.
Source: 9to5Google
The blog also stated that the majority of the layoffs occurred within the first-party augmented reality (AR) hardware team. Despite the move, Google said they remained “deeply committed” to other AR initiatives.
Meanwhile, Google confirmed the cutting of hundreds of jobs within its Assistant, knowledge, and information product teams to Semafor.
A spokesperson from the company said it was exploring the integration of newer artificial intelligence (AI) technology into its products.
Source: The Guardian
A Google representative said the restructuring would thus improve the company’s Google Assistant.
According to The Straits Times (ST), sources with knowledge of the layoffs said several hundred employees from its core engineering organisation lost corporate access. They then received notices informing them that Google had “eliminated their roles.
“We’ve had to make some difficult decisions about ongoing employment of some Google employees and we regret to inform you that your position is being eliminated,” the company said.
In a statement to The New York Times, a Google spokesperson said the company is investing responsibly in their “biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.”
This isn’t the first time Google has cut jobs in recent times. Last February, Google laid off about 190 employees from various departments in Singapore.
“Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” the spokesperson said, referring to similar layoffs last year.
It is unclear if employees in Singapore were affected by Google’s latest round of layoffs. MS News has reached out to Google for more information on the matter.
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