On Tuesday, Google announced the termination of hundreds of employees within its advertising sales team, a subsidiary of Alphabet. This development is part of the ongoing layoff spree at the search giant, suggesting a sustained wave of job cuts this year.
Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence software and automation to streamline operations, contributing to the ongoing workforce reductions. In the preceding week, Google had revealed plans to lay off staff in various units.
Google declared that its customer solutions unit, catering to medium-level advertiser clients, will be the primary team driving future growth, reported by Business Insider. In a similar vein, Amazon.com announced last week that it plans to lay off several hundred employees in its streaming and studio operations, along with 500 workers from its video streaming platform, Twitch.
Last week, Google’s hardware division suffered a significant setback, confirming the layoffs of hundreds of hardware workers, particularly within its augmented reality (AR) division.
Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman, along with other Fitbit leaders, reportedly departed from the company.
“A few hundred roles are being eliminated in DSPA, with the majority of impacts on the 1P AR Hardware team. While we are making changes to our 1P AR hardware team, Google continues to be deeply committed to other AR initiatives, such as AR experiences in our products, and product partnerships,” Google’s statement to 9to5Google read, according to The Verge.
In January 2023, Alphabet reduced its global workforce by 12,000 jobs, representing approximately 6% of its total employees.
Last month, Google introduced its much-anticipated AI model, Gemini, in an effort to catch up with Microsoft in the competitive field of artificial intelligence.
