Google has recently made significant layoffs in various divisions of the company, including hardware, voice assistance, and engineering teams. This move is part of Google’s cost-cutting measures and its strategic focus on investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The decision to shift the company’s focus towards AI comes as no surprise, as many tech giants, including Google’s rival Microsoft, are also heavily investing in this field. Microsoft, for instance, has recently introduced Copilot, a feature that incorporates AI into its products like the search engine Bing, the browser Edge, and Windows for corporate customers.
This is not the first time Google has implemented job cuts to reduce costs. Approximately a year ago, the company announced its plan to lay off around 12,000 employees, which accounted for about 6% of its workforce at that time.
Google is not alone in this trend of downsizing. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has also undergone significant layoffs, cutting more than 20,000 jobs to reassure investors. Despite these job cuts, Meta’s stock price experienced a considerable increase of about 178% in 2023.
Other tech companies such as Instagram and Amazon have also announced layoffs. Instagram has eliminated 60 positions of technical program managers, streamlining its management structure. These employees will be given a two-month period to apply for other roles within the company, and if they are unable to secure a new position, their employment will be terminated.
Similarly, Amazon is cutting approximately 500 employees in its Twitch livestreaming unit as part of efforts to align its headcount with the current size of the business. Amazon acquired Twitch for almost $1 billion in 2014, and it is primarily known as a popular livestreaming platform for video gamers.
In the media industry, NBC News has initiated a series of layoffs in its division, affecting a double-digit number of employees. Although an exact figure was not provided, sources suggest that it could range from 50 to 100 employees. This downsizing follows similar actions taken by other media outlets, such as CNN and NPR, who have also made significant cuts to their workforce in recent years.
Pixar, the renowned animation studio owned by Disney, is also expected to undergo layoffs. While initial sources claimed that these layoffs could be as high as 20% of the workforce, reducing the team of 1,300 to less than 1,000 employees, Pixar later denied these figures as being too high. This news coincides with the fact that Disney and Pixar films were completely excluded from the Best Animated Feature category at the Annie Awards for the first time in over three decades.
Overall, these layoffs across various tech and media companies reflect a broader trend of cost-cutting measures and strategic realignments to adapt to evolving market conditions. The shift towards investing in artificial intelligence showcases the growing significance of this technology in shaping the future of these industries.
