Sundar Pichai on when Google layoffs will stop? ‘We can’t do it now…’

Google layoffs: In 2024, Google has conducted multiple layoffs and they might not stop as CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company is "taking the time to do it correctly and well." Criticised for his leadership and the culture around layoffs, the Google top boss said that as a leader of such a large company, he makes "fewer consequential decisions, but they need to be clear."

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Through the layoffs, Google is simplifying teams and moving people to focus on new areas while in a few cases, the company is also removing some teams entirely to “improve velocity”, Sundar Pichai told Bloomberg. 

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In 2023, Google cut about 12,000 people and many have been laid off from core engineering and hardware teams in 2024. Sundar Pichai has repeatedly said that more layoffs are to come and they have. Last month, the company laid off more staff from several finance and real estate teams and announced that it would move roles to Bangalore, Mexico City, and Dublin to build out "growth hubs."

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Sundar Pichai said that Google is "reallocating people" to its "highest priorities."

He said, “There’s a lot of demand to do new things and, in the past, we would have just done it reflexively by growing headcount. We can’t do it now through the transition we are in", adding, "We see opportunities where we can re-allocate people and get things done."

On Google's future, he said, “We’ve always found people want choices, including in commercial areas, and that’s a fundamental need. We’ve been experimenting with ads and the data we see show that those fundamental principles will hold true.”