Amid anticipation of its first-quarter earnings report, Google has made a significant reorganization, including the layoff of at least 200 employees from its “Core” teams, according to CNBC.
This restructuring revealed just ahead of the earnings release on April 25, underscores the tech giant’s strategic realignment aimed at optimizing operations and resource allocation.
The Core unit, responsible for building the technical foundation of Google’s flagship products and ensuring users’ online safety, bore the brunt of the layoffs. The affected teams encompassed crucial technical units such as information technology, Python development, technical infrastructure, security foundation, app platforms, core developers, and various engineering roles.
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Notably, about 50 engineering positions were eliminated at the company’s Sunnyvale, California offices, signaling a significant shift in Google’s workforce distribution. Many of the eliminated roles will be relocated to Mexico and India, reflecting the company’s focus on expanding its global footprint while leveraging high-growth workforce locations.
Asim Husain, Vice President of Google Developer Ecosystem, conveyed news of the layoffs to his team through an email, citing it as the largest planned reduction for his team this year. He said the company is committed to maintaining its global presence while enhancing proximity to partners and developer communities.
“We intend to maintain our current global footprint while also expanding in high-growth global workforce locations so that we can operate closer to our partners and developer communities,” Husain wrote in the email.
The restructuring aligns with Alphabet’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations and optimize its workforce following a downturn in the online ad market. Despite recent growth in digital advertising, Alphabet has continued downsizing, with layoffs spanning multiple organizations. The company announced plans to eliminate about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, early last year.
Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat announced a restructuring of the finance department, including layoffs and relocations to Bangalore and Mexico City, as part of the broader realignment strategy. During an all-hands meeting in March, Prabhakar Raghavan, the company’s search chief, informed employees that Google intends to establish teams in key markets like India and Brazil, where labor costs are lower than in the U.S., bringing them closer to users.
The reorganization underscores Google’s proactive approach to adapting to evolving market dynamics and regulatory challenges. With heightened competition and a more challenging regulatory environment, the company is strategically positioning itself for long-term success while remaining responsive to escalating regulatory scrutiny and consumer expectations.
In a separate email, Pankaj Rohatgi, Google’s security engineering vice president, told his team, “In order to optimize for our business goals, we are expanding work to other locations, which will result in some role eliminations and proposed role eliminations.”
Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, slated for May 14, serves as a platform to unveil new developer products and tools. Against the backdrop of advancements in generative AI, including Google’s Gemini, the company is poised to redefine software development paradigms, ushering in a new era of innovation and efficiency.
The Core layoffs encompass the governance and protected data group, crucial in addressing regulatory challenges ahead, especially as global lawmakers increasingly scrutinize AI advancements. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, effective since March, targets anti-competitive behaviors within the tech industry.
While the Core layoffs reflect a significant restructuring effort, Google said it remains committed to supporting affected employees through outplacement services and opportunities to apply for open roles within the company.
“As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead,” the spokesperson said in an email. “A number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities.”
Pay Paid Apple $20 billion for Default Search Box
From LinkedIn: Google parent Alphabet paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 for Google to be the default search engine in the Safari web browser. That’s according to newly unsealed court documents in the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google, which heads into closing arguments Thursday and Friday. The feds argue that Google has illegally dominated the online search market and its related advertising. The case has revealed exactly how much Apple relies on those payments from Google, which made up more than 17% of the iPhone maker’s 2020 operating income. A decision is expected later this year.