New Delhi: Google, the search giant owned by Alphabet, announced on Tuesday that it is laying off hundreds of employees in its advertising sales team, as part of a broader restructuring to focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.
AI and automation drive job cuts
The layoffs are the latest in a series of job cuts at Google, which has been facing increasing competition from rivals such as Microsoft and Amazon.com in the AI race.
Google said that it is looking to adopt AI software and automation to lighten workloads, improve efficiency, and align its resources with its strategic priorities.
Last week, Google confirmed that it would also lay off several employees in its Voice Assistant units, which develop products such as Google Assistant and Google Home, and its hardware teams, which are responsible for devices such as Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit. In addition, Google said it would reduce its staff in its augmented reality team, which works on projects such as Google Glass and ARCore.
Customer solutions unit to lead growth
Google said that its customer solutions unit, which serves medium-level advertiser clients, will be the core team for growth moving forward. The company said that it is investing in this unit to provide better support and services to its customers.
Business Insider first reported the news of the layoffs in the advertising sales team earlier in the day, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Google trails behind Microsoft in AI
The job cuts come as Google tries to catch up to Microsoft in the AI race. Last month, Google unveiled its long-awaited AI model Gemini, which is designed to perform a variety of tasks across different domains, such as natural language processing, computer vision and speech recognition.
However, Gemini is still behind Microsoft’s AI model Turing-NLG, which was released in February 2023 and claims to be the largest and most advanced language model in the world, with 17 billion parameters and the ability to generate coherent and fluent text.
Alphabet to cut 6% of global workforce
The layoffs at Google are also part of Alphabet’s plan to cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce, which was announced in January 2023. The company said that the decision was made to streamline its operations and reduce costs, as it faces slowing revenue growth and rising expenses.
Alphabet’s revenue grew by 12% in 2023, down from 18% in 2022, while its operating expenses increased by 15%, mainly due to higher research and development spending and legal fees. The company also faced several antitrust lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny in various markets, such as the US, the EU, and India.
