Google lays off hundreds as AI tightens grip in tech world

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Google has laid off hundreds of employees in hardware, voice assistance, and engineering as it continues to cut costs.

“Throughout second-half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities,” a spokesperson for Google told Reuters in a statement.

“Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” the spokesperson said without specifying the number of affected roles.

Google last year announced plans to make its virtual assistant smarter by adding generative artificial intelligence (AI) that would be able to assist with tasks such as planning a trip or catching up on emails.

Concerns about the implications and usage of AI for job cuts are not new. A survey of 750 business leaders utilising AI conducted by ResumeBuilder revealed 37% of respondents stated the technology had replaced workers in 2023, while 44% anticipated layoffs in 2024 due to AI efficiency.

Meanwhile, several other tech giants have recently announced significant job cuts. 

Amazon.com Inc. is laying off hundreds of employees in content creation divisions, including Prime Video and the live-streaming site, Twitch. 

Unity Software Inc., the company behind the technology used in popular mobile games such as Pokemon Go, has also announced a 25% workforce reduction, about 1,800 job cuts.

Tech job landscape: What to expect in 2024

Layoffs.fyi, a platform monitoring job reductions across the industry, reports the number of tech employees laid off reached its highest point in the first quarter of 2023 and has been consistently decreasing since then.

More than 262,600 employees were last year laid off by 1,186 tech companies, including Spotify and Salesforce, with the peak occurring in January 2023.

However, despite initial concerns, the same data indicates that the job market is now stabilising.