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Alphabet's Google has laid off hundreds of employees across its platforms and devices unit, which includes team members responsible for Android, Pixel smartphones, and the Chrome browser, according to a recent report by The Information. The report, citing a source familiar with the matter, noted that the layoffs follow a voluntary exit programme offered to employees in January. That programme was introduced after Google merged its platforms and devices teams last year in an effort to streamline operations.
"Since combining the platforms and devices teams last year, we've focused on becoming more nimble and operating more effectively and this included making some job reductions in addition to the voluntary exit program that we offered in January," a Google spokesperson told The Information. The ongoing restructuring efforts show a wider trend in the technology sector, as firms continue to restructure their workforces, reallocating resources to artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation computing projects. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, laid off several employees in the past few years including 11,000 employees in 2022 and another 10,000 in 2023.
Microsoft trimmed 650 jobs in its Xbox division in 2023, and Apple reportedly eliminated around 100 roles in its digital services team in 2024. Google itself has implemented multiple rounds of job cuts in recent months. In February, Bloomberg reported that the company had downsized parts of its cloud division, though the cuts were said to affect only select teams.
Last year, Alphabet announced a broader plan to reduce its global workforce by approximately 12,000 roles , or 6 percent of its total headcount. Alphabet's Google has laid off hundreds of employees across its platforms and devices unit, which includes team members responsible for Android, Pixel smartphones, and the Chrome browser, according to a recent report by The Information. The report, citing a source familiar with the matter, noted that the layoffs follow a voluntary exit programme offered to employees in January.
That programme was introduced after Google merged its platforms and devices teams last year in an effort to streamline operations. "Since combining the platforms and devices teams last year, we've focused on becoming more nimble and operating more effectively and this included making some job reductions in addition to the voluntary exit program that we offered in January," a Google spokesperson told The Information. The ongoing restructuring efforts show a wider trend in the technology sector, as firms continue to restructure their workforces, reallocating resources to artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation computing projects.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, laid off several employees in the past few years including 11,000 employees in 2022 and another 10,000 in 2023. Microsoft trimmed 650 jobs in its Xbox division in 2023, and Apple reportedly eliminated around 100 roles in its digital services team in 2024. Google itself has implemented multiple rounds of job cuts in recent months.
In February, Bloomberg reported that the company had downsized parts of its cloud division, though the cuts were said to affect only select teams. Last year, Alphabet announced a broader plan to reduce its global workforce by approximately 12,000 roles , or 6 percent of its total headcount..
