Google lays off around 1000 employees across Pixel, Fitbit & more

Google has cut jobs in many of its divisions, including its engineering and hardware divisions. The layoffs are said to be around a thousand.

Google is once again joining a slew of tech companies in laying off its workforce. According to various reports, the search giant is letting go of a few hundred employees across many divisions, including its core engineering division.

Though the precise number of layoffs remains uncertain, The Verge reports that job cuts are hovering around a thousand within teams focusing on Pixel phones, Nest smart thermostats, Fitbit watches, and Google Assistant.

Google suggests more layoffs could follow

Google has confirmed the hardware layoffs in a statement to 9to5Google. “A few hundred roles are being eliminated in DSPA with the majority of impacts on the 1P AR Hardware team,” said the search giant.

However, these are only the layoffs we officially know of. New York Times reports, citing three people with knowledge of the cuts, that Google also laid off employees in its core engineering division, as well as those working on the Google Assistant.

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“We’ve had to make some difficult decisions about ongoing employment of some Google employees and we regret to inform you that your position is being eliminated,” the company told some workers in the engineering division, according to text reviewed by NYT.

The layoffs are allegedly a part of reorganizations that are made in the normal course of business. “Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” a Google spokesperson told NYT.

This could hint at more layoffs on the horizon. It seems like Google is trying to stagger the negative news rather than dropping it all at once.

Google had 182,000 employees as of September 30, 2023, after laying off six percent of its workforce, or 12,000 people, in January of the previous year – the largest layoffs the company has ever conducted.