Google cuts 200 jobs in a core business unit

Google has laid off approximately 200 employees from its global business unit, which manages sales and partnerships, as part of the company's ongoing cost-cutting efforts. The layoffs, reflect a broader trend among major tech companies redirecting resources toward data centres and artificial intelligence development.

In a statement to Campaign Asia-Pacific, a Google spokesperson said: "We're making a small number of changes across our teams to drive greater collaboration and expand our ability to quickly and effectively serve our customers."

The cuts come in less than four weeks after the tech giant slashed roles in its platforms and devices division responsible for products like Android, Pixel, and Chrome. On April 11, Reuters reported that "hundreds of employees were let go" from the unit following voluntary buyout offers made earlier in January. At the time, Google stated the reductions were part of efforts to make the division "more nimble and operate more effectively."

The current layoffs are part of a larger restructuring strategy by Google's parent company, Alphabet. During Google Cloud's annual conference on April 9, chief executive Sundar Pichai announced plans to invest US$75 billion in 2025 to expand data centre capacity. This funding will support Alphabet's core services, such as Search, and its AI initiatives, including the development of the Gemini AI model.

While these layoffs are significant, they are far smaller in scale compared to the company's widespread culling in January 2023, when 12,000 employees, that's 6% of its global workforce, were let go.

The tech industry overall has been undergoing similar workforce reductions.

In January, Meta laid off around 100 employees in its Reality Labs unit and 3,600 more (5% of its workforce) after CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of an "intense year." Microsoft trimmed 650 jobs in its Xbox unit in September, while Amazon downsized staff in several departments, including communications. Apple also eliminated around 100 positions in its digital services group in August 2024.

As of December 2024, Google employed 183,323 people globally, according to company filings.