Google CEO warns of more layoffs as search giant turns to AI, other priorities

SAN FRANCISCO – Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has warned employees that more layoffs are in store at the search giant as it focused on new priorities, including artificial intelligence (AI).

“These role eliminations are not at the scale of last year’s reductions, and will not touch every team. But I know it’s very difficult to see colleagues and teams impacted,” he said in an e-mail to staff seen by AFP on Jan 18.

“Many of these changes are already announced, though to be upfront, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year where needed, and some roles may be impacted,” Mr Pichai added.

Google

laid off around 12,000 people this time in 2023

, about 6 per cent of its workforce, in the face of inflation and rising interest rates.

The company on Jan 16 confirmed it is eliminating “a few hundred” positions from its global ad team amid a push to use AI for efficiency and creativity.

The job cuts to its “large customer” sales team are intended to result in better support for small and medium-sized businesses advertising on Google’s platform, it said.

The company on Jan 17 also

laid off about 100 employees at its YouTube arm,

the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

According to the New York Times, the YouTube workers have two months to find new roles within the company before their dismissals take effect.

Since the start of 2024, tech titan Amazon has also cut staff, targeting hundreds of people at its entertainment units Twitch, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.

Since late 2022, US tech giants have culled tens of thousands of staff in an unprecedented layoff spree after over-hiring during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Facebook owner Meta

laid off more than 20,000 workers

in the period, in what it called the “Year of Efficiency”.

Amazon lost 27,000 workers. AFP