Google lays off hundreds in hardware, voice assistant teams amid cost-cutting drive

Google is presently locked successful a fierce rivalry with Microsoft arsenic some firms strive to pb successful the artificial quality domain.

Google has laid disconnected hundreds of employees moving connected its hardware, dependable assistance and engineering teams arsenic portion of cost-cutting measures.

The cuts travel arsenic Google looks towards "responsibly investing successful our company's biggest priorities and the important opportunities ahead," the institution said successful a statement.

"Some teams are continuing to marque these kinds of organizational changes, which see immoderate relation eliminations globally," it said.

Google earlier said it was eliminating a fewer 100 roles, with astir of the interaction connected its augmented world hardware team.

The cuts travel pledges by executives of Google and its genitor institution Alphabet to trim costs. A twelvemonth ago, Google said it would laic disconnected 12,000 employees, oregon astir 6% of its workforce.

In a station connected X - antecedently known arsenic Twitter - the Alphabet Workers Union described the occupation cuts arsenic "another circular of needless layoffs."

"Our members and teammates enactment hard each time to physique large products for our users, and the institution cannot proceed to occurrence our coworkers portion making billions each quarter," the national wrote. "We won't halt warring until our jobs are safe!"

Google is not the lone exertion institution cutting back. In the past year, Meta -- the genitor institution of Facebook -- has slashed much than 20,000 jobs to reassure investors. Meta's banal terms gained astir 178% successful 2023.

Spotify said successful December that it was axing 17% of its planetary workforce, the euphony streaming service's 3rd circular of layoffs successful 2023 arsenic it moved to slash costs and amended its profitability.

Earlier this week, Amazon laid disconnected hundreds of employees successful its Prime Video and workplace units. It besides volition laic disconnected astir 500 employees who enactment connected its livestreaming level Twitch.

Amazon has chopped thousands of jobs aft a hiring surge during the pandemic. In March, Amazon announced that it planned to laic disconnected 9,000 employees, connected apical of 18,000 employees it said that it would laic disconnected successful January 2023.

Google is presently locked successful a fierce rivalry with Microsoft arsenic some firms strive to pb successful the artificial quality domain.

Microsoft has stepped up its artificial quality offerings to rival Google's. In September, Microsoft introduced a Copilot diagnostic that incorporates artificial quality into products similar hunt motor Bing, browser Edge arsenic good arsenic Windows for its firm customers.