Hundreds of Google’s Android & Pixel Workers Are Let Go

This week, Alphabet’s Google let off hundreds of people in its platforms and devices section, The Information said on Friday, citing a person with first-hand knowledge of the matter.

The layoffs in the business, comprising the Android platform, Pixel phones and the Chrome browser among other programs, follow Google’s January buyout offers to staff in the unit, the report added.

A representative from Google told The Information that “Since combining the platforms and devices teams last year, we’ve focused on becoming more nimble and operating more effectively and this included making some job reductions in addition to the voluntary exit program that we offered in January”.

“Job reductions” have occurred in Google’s platforms and devices departments, a Google representative acknowledged to Scripps News. 

In addition to the voluntary leave program we provided in January, we have made certain employment cutbacks as part of our commitment on becoming more agile and running more efficiently since merging the Platforms and Devices teams last year. For significant initiatives in line with our roadmaps, we are still hiring both domestically and internationally,” a spokesman stated.

A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by Google.

The hundreds of workers that were reportedly laid off make up less than 4% of the over 25,000 personnel who make up the Platforms & Devices business. It was created last year when the Google divisions in charge of Android and consumer hardware merged. Rick Osterloh, the former president of Motorola Inc., is in charge of the group.

Large IT companies have been reducing their investments in other aspects of their business and shifting funds to data centres and AI development.

Additionally, the organization manages Google Drive, Google Photos, and the Chrome platform.

The division’s layoffs come after Google made buyout offers to workers in January, according to The Information and Reuters, which also pointed out that many tech companies are investing more in data centres and artificial intelligence.

The Platforms & Devices department is in charge of Chrome and Google’s ChromeOS laptop operating system in addition to Android. It also oversees the development of a number of the business’s consumer-focused cloud services, such as Google One. Other business departments are in charge of creating Google Maps and Google Search.

Consumer hardware is the other main focus area of the Platforms & Devices group, which also creates the Fitbit smartwatch series, Nest smart home appliance line, and Google’s Pixel smartphones. The group’s newest product, the Pixel 9a, began shipping in the United States on Thursday. It is a mid range Android smartphone with a larger display than its predecessor and a new chassis without a camera bump. It is powered by a custom chip called the Tensor G4, which is manufactured using a four-nanometer process.

About 5% of Facebook’s “lowest performers” were let go in January, yet the company continued to hire machine learning specialists at a rapid pace.

In September, Microsoft also let off 650 employees from its Xbox division. According to media sources, Apple cut over 100 positions in its digital services area last year, while Amazon fired off workers in a number of departments, including communications.