Google cuts hundreds of jobs at its Voice Assistant, AR and hardware teams
Co-founders of Fitbit, which the tech giant bought in 2021, will also leave as the tech giant cuts costs further
11 January 2024 - 11:32
byGursimran Kaur and Jyoti Narayan
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Bengaluru — Google is retrenching hundreds of staff across multiple teams, with Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman also leaving the company, as the tech giant continues its push to cut costs.
Google said on Wednesday the job cuts will be made at its Voice Assistant unit, while a few hundred roles are being eliminated at the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit. The majority of the augmented reality (AR) will be retrenched.
Google bought health and fitness tracking company Fitbit for $2.1bn in 2021 but has continued to roll out new versions of its Pixel Watch, a product that competes with some of Fitbit’s devices and the Apple Watch.
“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. Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” a spokesperson for Google said in a statement.
The reorganisation of certain teams comes as companies such as Microsoft and Google are betting on the rising adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology after the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Last year, Google announced plans to add generative AI capabilities to its virtual assistant. AI would allow the assistant to do things such as help people plan a trip or catch up on emails and then ask follow-up questions.
The spokesperson didn’t say exactly how many jobs would be lost. It's also not clear how many people are part of the Google Assistant software and devices and services teams.
In January last year, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said it planned to cut 12,000 jobs around the world, equivalent to 6% of its workforce.
Alphabet had 182,381 employees globally in September 2023.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Google cuts hundreds of jobs at its Voice Assistant, AR and hardware teams
Co-founders of Fitbit, which the tech giant bought in 2021, will also leave as the tech giant cuts costs further
Bengaluru — Google is retrenching hundreds of staff across multiple teams, with Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman also leaving the company, as the tech giant continues its push to cut costs.
Google said on Wednesday the job cuts will be made at its Voice Assistant unit, while a few hundred roles are being eliminated at the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit. The majority of the augmented reality (AR) will be retrenched.
Google bought health and fitness tracking company Fitbit for $2.1bn in 2021 but has continued to roll out new versions of its Pixel Watch, a product that competes with some of Fitbit’s devices and the Apple Watch.
“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. Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” a spokesperson for Google said in a statement.
The reorganisation of certain teams comes as companies such as Microsoft and Google are betting on the rising adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology after the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Last year, Google announced plans to add generative AI capabilities to its virtual assistant. AI would allow the assistant to do things such as help people plan a trip or catch up on emails and then ask follow-up questions.
The spokesperson didn’t say exactly how many jobs would be lost. It's also not clear how many people are part of the Google Assistant software and devices and services teams.
In January last year, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said it planned to cut 12,000 jobs around the world, equivalent to 6% of its workforce.
Alphabet had 182,381 employees globally in September 2023.
Reuters
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