Google layoffs reach Assistant, core engineering, and other teams

We’re not even two weeks into 2024, and Google has initiated a wave of layoffs across multiple teams throughout the company. In addition to cuts to the hardware division reported on Wednesday, further position removals have reportedly impacted other teams, including core engineering and Assistant.

On Wednesday, 9to5Google reported that Google had announced layoffs within the hardware division that coincided with a restructuring of that organization. It also came to light that Fitbit’s cofounders, James Park and Eric Friedman, were also leaving Google.

Later that evening, Semafor shared that Google had confirmed “hundreds” of layoffs on the Google Assistant team as well as the knowledge and information product teams. Similar to the hardware division changes, there will be a restructuring aimed at ensuring the AI-powered Assistant with Bard “extends beyond voice, understands and adapts to you and handles personal tasks in new ways.” (Hours later, it was announced that a selection of “underutilized” features of Google Assistant would be removed in the coming weeks.)

The New York Times went on to report that “several hundred” employees in Google’s core engineering division were also affected by the changes, each being told that their “position is being eliminated.”

Last month, The Information reported on Google’s plans to reorganize its ad sales division, which led to fears of layoffs. According to one source, more details of the restructuring have since been shared with employees, and a number of sales and marketing roles will indeed be eliminated.

This somewhat staggered wave of layoffs and role eliminations comes nearly a year after Google announced plans to lay off 12,000 employees in January 2023.

In response to these reports, the Alphabet Workers Union posted a statement in support of the affected employees:

Tonight, Google began another round of needless layoffs. Our members and teammates work hard every day to build great products for our users, and the company cannot continue to fire our coworkers while making billions every quarter. We won’t stop fighting until our jobs are safe!