Google confirms more job cuts as part of company reorganisation

Google is cutting an unspecified number of jobs, the technology giant has confirmed, as part of its latest efforts to cut costs.

The tech firm said the cuts were not company-wide and that affected employees will be able to apply for internal roles, but it has not confirmed how many people have been affected or the teams involved.

A small percentage of the impacted roles will move to other locations or “hubs” globally that the company is investing in, including in Dublin and India, as well as Chicago and Atlanta in the US, it said.

A Google spokesperson said: “As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.

“To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities.

“Through this, we’re simplifying our structures to give employees more opportunity to work on our most innovative and important advances and our biggest company priorities, while reducing bureaucracy and layers.”

The announcement continues the trend of job cuts in the tech sector – Google announced it was cutting hundreds of jobs in January, having also announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs in January 2023.

Earlier this month it was reported that Apple had dismissed around 600 staff said to be linked to its now-cancelled car project.

Meanwhile fellow tech giants Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Snapchat and TikTok are among the high-profile firms which have announced layoffs over the last year.

In a separate incident, Google confirmed it had dismissed 28 employees who had taken part in protests over the company’s work with the Israeli government.

The tech giant has faced protests over providing cloud computing services to Israeli government ministries through a scheme known as Project Nimbus.

On Tuesday, dozens of staff wearing T-shirts saying “Googlers against genocide” staged sit-in protests and unfurled banners inside company offices.

In a statement on the incident, a Google spokesperson said: “These protests were part of a longstanding campaign by a group of organisations and people who largely don’t work at Google.

“A small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a few of our locations. Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behaviour.

“After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety.

“We have so far concluded individual investigations that resulted in the termination of employment for 28 employees, and will continue to investigate and take action as needed.”

In a further statement on Nimbus and its contract with the Israeli government, a Google spokesperson said the work “is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services”.