Google CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs. How does he plan to compete with Microsoft in creating AI systems?

Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai has warned of more layoffs this year. In an internal memo last Wednesday, Pichai acknowledged that more layoffs were on the way. He also said that the company wanted to remove "layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas. The Alphabet executive said, "Many of these changes are already announced, though to be upfront, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year where needed, and some roles may be impacted."

Cost-cutting moves

Sundar Pichai said that the layoffs would not be "at the scale of last year’s reductions", when the company cut some 12,000 employees. Google had more than 182,000 employees around the world as of last fall.

According to 'The Verge', the cost-cutting moves came as Google pours more resources into its heated competition with Microsoft-backed OpenAI to develop advanced AI systems. It launched its latest large-language AI model in December last year.

Earlier layoffs

Earlier this month, Google confirmed layoffs across multiple parts of its empire, including several hundred job cuts on its ad sales team and more than 1,000 combined workers in other units. It included its core engineering team and the hardware division responsible for devices such as the Pixel, Nest and Fitbit. It also shared with its employees last Thursday its belt-tightening plans on a list of '2024 company-wide OKRs' or objective key results.

Former employees blast Google

According to the New York Post, some current and former Google employees have slammed the company for its handling of the latest wave of job cuts. Kenneth Smith, a former Google engineering manager who was laid off, wrote on LinkedIn, "Call me old school, but I think that if you find yourself in a situation where you need to let someone go, you owe it to them to meet them face-to-face, look them in the eyes, and acknowledge their humanity."

FAQs:

What has Sundar Pichai said about the possible layoffs?
Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged in an internal memo last Wednesday that more layoffs were on the way. He also said that the company wanted to remove "layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas.

Why has Google taken the cost-cutting move?
Google has taken the cost-cutting moves came as it pours more resources into its heated competition with Microsoft-backed OpenAI to develop advanced AI systems. It launched its latest large-language AI model in December last year.