It was reported that Alphabet is laying off employees from several teams in Google’s cloud unit, one of its fastest-growing businesses, CNBC has learned.
The company notified employees last week of the cloud cuts, with roles being eliminated in sales, consulting, “go-to-market” strategy, operations and engineering, according to internal correspondence viewed by CNBC.
At least 100 positions were cut, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorised to speak about the layoffs.
Insiders previously reported some details of the layoffs.
A Google spokesperson told CNBC the cuts are incremental across teams to better align its go-to-market organisation.
“As we’ve shared before, we continue to evolve our business to meet our customers’ priorities and the significant opportunity ahead,” the spokesperson said.
“We maintain our commitment to investing in areas that are critical to our business and ensure our long-term success.”
Some of those who lost their jobs had worked on the company’s annual Google Cloud Next that took place in mid-April, said people familiar with the situation.
Google has been conducting ongoing layoffs since early 2023. Employees have since complained about demands that they work on tighter deadlines with fewer resources and diminished opportunities for internal advancement even as the company records record profit.
Last month, Google cut at least 200 employees from its “Core” organisation, which included key teams and engineering talent.
CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that the company would have fewer layoffs in the second half of 2024.
Revenue for Google Cloud, which houses much of the company’s artificial intelligence technology, jumped 28% from a year earlier to $9.57 billion in the latest quarter, sailing past estimates.
Operating income more than quadrupled to $900 million, showing that Google is finally generating substantial profit after pouring money into the business for years to keep up with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
However, the cloud unit, led by CEO Thomas Kurian, has been under pressure to continue accelerating growth as competition heats up in AI. – CNBC
