Google announces layoffs in US-based HR, cloud units to cut costs and invest into AI infrastructure: Report
This will be a voluntary exit programme to full-time US-based Google employees, starting in early March.
Google has told staff in its “People Operations” and cloud organisations in the US this week that it is planning a layoff as part of an internal reorganization.
This comes after chief financial officer (CFO) Anat Ashkenazi said that one of her top priorities would be more cost-cutting as Google missed its fourth quarter revenue expectations and is also looking to expand its spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure this year, according to a CNBC report.
HT cannot independently verify this information.
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This will be a voluntary exit programme for full-time employees starting in early March, according to the report, which cited a memo issued on Tuesday by HR chief Fiona Cicconi.
Employees who are level 4 and level 5 (Mid to senior-level employees) may also get a severance of 14 weeks of salary along with one additional week for every full year of service, the report read.
Google also made job cuts to several teams within its cloud unit, which affected sales operations, customer experience, internal deal, and go-to-market teams.
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Some of those roles were also moved to India and Mexico City, according to the report.
However, the total number of layoffs remains unclear, with the company claiming it is small in quantity and that it is hiring for critical sales and engineering roles.
The search engine giant also added that it is giving those employees time to explore and apply to different roles at Google itself.
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Google in January had also said that it would offer buyouts to US “Platforms and Devices” unit employees ahead of expected cuts. This unit has over 25,000 full-time employees who work on Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Google Photos, Google One, Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest, according to the report.
