Implementation of the latest round of layoffs at Google began in the United States late last week. « The New York Times » and « The Verge » reported that at least 1,000 employees in various departments, including engineering and hardware, were laid off. The layoffs affected teams responsible for hardware products such as the Fitbit fitness smartwatch, Pixel devices for Google smartphones and the Personal Assistant, in which Google is dropping some features and content.
This follows reports last week of thousands of people being laid off across Google’s advertising departments. While at the start of 2023 Google cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, Google is also starting the current year with large-scale changes – this time allocating more resources to the development of AI amid fierce competition between tech giants. generative AI products.
Layoffs expected at Waze
A source familiar with the matter told « Globes » that Google had distributed a list of layoffs for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, as part of its job cut plan. The layoffs concern research services, the company’s core product (in Israel, most employees in this area are in Haifa); the data security and privacy products department, including engineering divisions and the advertising and marketing department; and the Maps division, in which Israeli company Waze is also active, was marked as being hit by cuts in EMEA. Last summer, Waze was integrated into the Maps division and its independent advertising system was canceled and merged with the Google Maps advertising system. The division has seen some upheaval over the past year, including the departure of Waze’s CEO.
Most of Google’s operations in this region are in Dublin, Zurich, London, Wroclaw, Munich, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The latest layoffs have not yet reached Israel and none of the company’s 2,000 employees in Tel Aviv and Haifa have been summoned to a dismissal hearing.
The Google spokesperson said: “As we have previously stated, we invest responsibly in key business priorities and significant opportunities before us. To best prepare for this transition, in the second half of 2023, a number of our teams have been streamlined to function better and align resources with their product’s key priorities. Some teams continue to make such organizational changes, which include a number of job cuts around the world. Any proposed organizational changes are subject to local processes and regulations. We continue to support all affected employees as they seek new positions within and outside of Google. »
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – fr.globes.co.il – January 14, 2024.
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