Google announces second major round of job cuts in 2024 as part of AI shift

Google has recently announced major restructuring plans that could result in layoffs for some of its employees, a move that comes after company's CEO Sundar Pichai warned about the possibility of more layoffs in 2024.
The employees were sent a memo on Wednesday by Ruth Porat, Google's chief financial officer, informing them about company’s new plans, CNBC reported. 

“The tech sector is in the midst of a tremendous platform shift with Al. As a company, this means we have the opportunity to make more helpful products for billions of users and provide faster solutions to our customers, but it also means we collectively have to make tough decisions, including how and where we work to align with our highest priority areas,” the memo read.

“We are sad to say goodbye to some talented teammates and friends we care about, and we know this change is difficult,” the note added. 

Google has not revealed the exact number of employees being let go in the latest round of layoffs but the CNBC report claimed that it could affect the finance division of the company. 

The latest cuts follow a broader effort by Google to rearrange its workforce and resources to accommodate further investment in new technologies such as AI as advertising growth slows, it said.

The restructuring will impact teams in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East, as per the report which added that Google plans to create more centralized hubs in Bangalore, Dublin, Mexico City, Atlanta and Chicago.

Companies like Tesla, Apple, and Amazon have implemented restructuring plans in 2024 and 2023 which led to tens of thousands of layoffs globally. Reports suggest that over 58,000 tech employees have been fired so far in 2024.