TECH NEWS – Hundreds of employees have lost their jobs again as Google continues to downsize.

Google has reportedly laid off hundreds of employees after offering them voluntary redundancy packages in January. The laid off employees worked on Android, Chrome and Pixel. Recall that the Alphabet subsidiary merged its Android and Chrome teams. This created the Pixel and Devices group. Presumably, this move led to the layoff of hundreds of employees. According to The Information, Google has confirmed the layoffs in a statement as (and here comes the usual tiresome PR blurb) it focuses on becoming more nimble and efficient.

No details are available at this time as to whether any specific teams or products have been affected by the downsizing. What is certain is that the impact will not be felt by users, as Google’s plan is explicitly set in stone and the releases planned for this year are still on track. Google began its internal restructuring several months ago. The company offered voluntary buyouts in January this year. Prior to that, the Android and Chrome units were merged with the Pixel and Devices units in 2024 under Rick Osterloh, and the combined units employed more than 20,000 people.

Google seems to be trying to maintain a more integrated ecosystem, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence in its hardware and software products. The company isn’t shying away from layoffs, having cut nearly 6% of its global workforce by 2023, but it has continued to expand its product list while offering significant AI additions to its overall product line. And we recently wrote about how Deepmind, its AI division, is paying employees up to a year’s salary to do nothing and not go anywhere else until then.

The question now is how Google will explain the next wave of mass layoffs, because there will be one. Then they won’t be able to use this lame excuse.

Source: WCCFTech