Amazon & Google Announce Another Round Of Layoffs As Tech Giants Continue To Cut Costs

It's another year and another round of layoffs at tech giant Google. After laying off around 12,000 employees last year in January, the Sundar Pichai-led company is again laying off hundreds of employees.

Google Laying Off Hundreds Of Employees

The layoffs come as Google¡¯s core search business feels the heat from rival artificial intelligence offerings | Getty

Google is reportedly laying off hundreds of employees working on its digital assistant, hardware and engineering teams as it sustains a drive to cut costs. The affected employees included those working on the voice-based Google Assistant and at the augmented reality hardware team. Employees in the company¡¯s central engineering organization also got hit by cuts, the company said, as per a Bloomberg report.

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Reason Behind Google's Fresh Layoffs

The layoffs come as Google¡¯s core search business feels the heat from rival artificial intelligence offerings from Microsoft and ChatGPT-creator OpenAI. In their calls with investors, Google executives reportedly pledged to scrutinise their operations to identify places where they can make cuts, and free up resources to invest in their biggest priorities.

¡°Throughout the 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 Google spokesperson said in a statement, adding that some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.

Reuters

Moreover, while the mass layoffs of last year were communicated by CEO Sundar Pichai, this year¡¯s layoffs have been communicated by lower-level leaders, such as vice presidents and human resources, according to a current employee and a former worker.

Amazon Lays Off Hundreds Of Employees

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Besides Google, Amazon too has also laid off hundreds of employees in its Prime Video and studios business this week. This further raises questions about another major round of layoffs knocking on the door.

Reason Behind Amazon's Fresh Layoffs

At Amazon, Mike Hopkins, who oversees the affected units, sent a note to employees on Wednesday informing them of the layoffs. As per a CNBC report, Hopkins said the company moved to make cuts to ¡°prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business.¡±

¡°Throughout the past year, we¡¯ve looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers,¡± Hopkins wrote in the memo to employees. ¡°As a result, we¡¯ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.¡±

The layoffs at Amazon come soon after its Twitch livestreaming unit announced 500 layoffs.

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