Google CEO Sundar Pichai has promised more job cuts at Google this year, and the company is delivering. Business Insider first reported that the latest job cuts were made to “multiple teams” in Google’s real estate and finance divisions. The report added: “One current employee said the changes were ‘pretty extensive’ and that some roles were being transferred overseas.”
CNBC obtained a copy of a memo Google and Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat sent to employees about the layoffs. Porat blamed AI for the layoffs, saying, “The tech industry is in the midst of an incredible platform shift driven by AI. It means we have the opportunity to create faster solutions and deliver faster solutions to our customers, but it also means we have to collectively make tough decisions about where and how we work to align with our highest-level goals. It is not clear how or if AI will actually take over the role of real estate and finance.
Google has cut jobs in many departments since Pichai declared in 2022 that Google wasn’t productive enough. A major layoff of 12,000 people took place in January 2023, followed by an almost countless number of smaller layoffs since then. Google’s layoffs coincide with a wave of large-scale layoffs across the tech industry.
It’s not really surprising to see the real estate sector come under fire. Another major recent technology trend is the huge shift brought about by the pandemic: working from home. Luxury real estate was once the bedrock for these tech giants, but office space remains empty and unused as everyone realizes they can do the same work from home. Google responded by canceling real estate projects and ending some office space deals.
