The thousands of layoffs that Google carried out at the beginning of January – and which affected departments such as Pixel, Nest or Fitbit – are just the beginning. Sundar Pichai, CEO of the company, has confirmed in an internal memo obtained by The Verge that They will let go of more employees throughout the year with the goal of “removing layers to simplify execution and boost speed in some areas.”
“We have ambitious goals and will invest in our big priorities this year. But the reality is that, To create the capacity for this investment, we have to make difficult decisions“, Pichai detailed in the statement sent to his employees. The words of the CEO of Google refer to the layoffs that the company began last January and which, we reiterate, affected thousands of employees.
Google, specifically, got rid of staff who worked in the hardware and AR division, including employees from the design, software and user interface areas of Pixel, Nest and Fitbit, who until now worked in independent teams within the company. This wave of layoffs affected two important names within the company. They are James Park and Eric Friedman; co-founders of Fitbit and who joined the company after its purchase by Google in 2019.
Google’s CEO has tried to calm employee concerns by warning that the layoffs “are not on the scale of the reductions in January of last year.” [donde se despidieron a unos 12.000 empleados]. Furthermore, “they will not affect all teams,” he assures. However, he warns: “Many of these changes have already been announced, although to be honest, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year when necessary”.
The latest wave of layoffs at Google affects YouTube
To the approximately 1,000 employees that Google laid off on January 10 – there could be more, according to some reports – we must add 100 new layoffs in YouTube’s commercial area.
As reported TubfilterMary Ellen Coe, head of the business operations, partnerships and advertising team, sent an internal statement alleging the layoffs as part of a p-strategy.to optimize the platform business. “As the business evolves, we have an even greater need to ensure that we are managing the business effectively and meeting the needs of all our users,” he said.
On the other hand, Google has confirmed that the 100 laid-off employees may apply for other charges within YouTube in case they so wish. At the moment, it is not clear what the compensation will be for these and the rest of the employees that Google has thrown out.