In Google’s Latest Round Of Layoffs, Hundreds Are Let Go As Its Ad Platform Embraces AI!

The last few years have seen a major business adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), with many businesses embracing the technology across its processes.

This move comes with good reason, considering the benefits that AI brings in the form of reduced costs, increased workflow efficiencies, quicker delivery times and tailored outputs. Of course, with the rise of technology, businesses find the need to realign their strategies and reform their processes, which sometimes leads to restructuring and layoffs.

One of the biggest technology companies, Google, recently went through a similar phase, which saw a range of rounds of layoffs driven by the transition to AI-powered workflows.

So, what happened at Google? Let’s explore!
 

What Did Google Do?

 

• As Google looks to cut costs, the company will undergo another round of layoffs, letting go of several hundred employees from its advertising-sales team. 

• Additionally, the company plans to move employees from its Large Customer Sales (LCS) unit, which focuses on selling ads to large businesses, to its Google Customer Solutions (GCS) unit, which focuses on selling ads to small and medium businesses.

• As per reports, the move was made known to staff through a memo shared by Google’s SVP and Chief Business Officer, Philipp Schindler.

• Excerpts from the memo read “Going forward GCS will be our core channel for scaling growth by dynamically delivering the right treatment to every customer — while LCS will focus on transformational growth for our largest, most sophisticated customers.”

• Adding to that, the memo read “While I'm confident we're doing the right thing for our customers, partners, and ultimately for our business, this will be very hard for many, especially across our LCS teams.”

• While the company has been bringing a range of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) features to its Google Ads service, the company claims the move is not related to AI. Instead, the company believes that its large clients don’t require a lot of Google’s resources.

• Additionally, the company recently launched its newest AI model, Gemini, in December 2023.

• Prior to this, Google announced it would lay off hundreds of employees from its voice assistant unit and augmented reality hardware unit, while its central engineering units would also be impacted.

• All this comes as Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, announced the company would face the brunt of a workforce cut downs affecting 12,000 employees globally.

 

What Did Google Say About The Move?

 

• Speaking on the matter, a Google spokesperson said, “Every year we go through a rigorous process to structure our team to provide the best service to our Ads customers. We map customers to the right specialist teams and sales channels to meet their service needs. As part of this, a few hundred roles globally are being eliminated and impacted employees will be able to apply for open roles on the team or elsewhere at Google.” 

• Ahead of this, Google’s spokesperson said, “We’re responsibly investing in our company's biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead," a Google spokesperson told FOX Business. "To best position us for these opportunities, 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.”

Do you think AI adoption will lead to more job cuts as it finds increased applications in the industry? Can AI be used to enhance employee functions rather than replace them?

Let us know in the comments below!