Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced further job cuts as part of the company’s strategy to meet “ambitious goals” in the coming year. Another chunk of the company’s notoriously leftist employee population will soon be looking for new jobs.
CNBC reports that in an internal memo addressed to employees, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, revealed plans for additional job reductions in 2024. This announcement aligns with the company’s strategic shift towards investment in key areas, particularly artificial intelligence. Pichai emphasized the necessity of making “tough choices” to facilitate these investments. The memo, titled “2024 priorities and the year ahead,” detailed Google’s plan for the new year.
A Google Inc. employee marches towards City Hall during the Global Climate Strike in Seattle, Washington. Photographer: Chloe Collyer/Bloomberg
Breitbart News recently reported on layoffs already announced by Google, which occurred before Pichai’s memo was sent out:
Google recently announced layoffs in some of its key divisions as part of its workforce strategy. The affected departments include the Voice Assistant unit; the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit devices; and the augmented reality (AR) team. This move comes shortly after Google’s acquisition of Fitbit for $2.1 billion in 2021, which was a significant investment in the wearable technology sector. Despite this acquisition, Google has continued to develop and release new versions of its Pixel Watch, a product that directly competes with Fitbit’s offerings and the Apple Watch.
Google initiated several changes throughout the second half of 2023 to improve efficiency, streamline its operations, and realign resources. This restructuring involved eliminating roles across different teams globally. While the exact number of affected roles has not been announced, the impact is being felt amongst employees, as Alphabet has a reported global workforce of 182,381 as of September 2023.
The Alphabet Workers Union commented on the layoffs, calling them “needless” and promising to continue to fight the company “until our jobs are safe!”
The decision for further job cuts follows a series of layoffs that began in January 2023, when Google announced the elimination of 12,000 jobs, accounting for approximately 6 percent of its full-time workforce. These reductions also included cutbacks in perks, laptops, and equipment. “The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices,” Pichai wrote. He said that this will mean terminating some roles from certain teams and “removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity.”
In addition to the layoffs, Pichai confirmed that the downsizing would not be as extensive as the previous year’s and would not affect every team. Despite these cutbacks, Google’s financial performance remains strong. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw a 58 percent increase in its shares last year, improved by a resurgence in tech stocks and excitement about advancements in artificial intelligence. This upturn followed a challenging 2022 and was aided by double-digit revenue growth in the third quarter and a rebound in the digital advertising market.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.