Google has laid off about 200 employees in its global business unit, which is responsible for sales and partnerships. This news was reported by The Information. These job cuts are part of Google’s ongoing plan to focus more on areas like data centers and artificial intelligence (AI), while cutting back on other investments.
At the moment, many big tech companies, including Google, are tweaking their business plans to focus on AI and cloud services, which are seen as more important for growth. As a result, jobs that are linked to sales and traditional partnerships are becoming less secure, leading to layoffs.
Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc., confirmed the layoffs with a statement to Reuters. The company explained that these changes are meant to “drive greater collaboration” and help Google serve its customers better and faster.
This is not the first time Google has made job cuts recently. In April 2024, the company let go of hundreds of workers in its platforms and devices unit. This unit is responsible for products like Android, Pixel phones, and the Chrome browser. These earlier cuts, along with the recent ones, show that Google is focusing on streamlining its operations and reducing costs.
These new layoffs are also part of a bigger shift at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which started last year. In January 2023, Alphabet announced it would cut 12,000 jobs, or about 6% of its total workforce. As of December 31, 2024, Alphabet employed 183,323 people, according to company filings.
The job cuts at Google are part of a wider trend in the tech industry. Many large companies are reducing their workforce as they adjust to economic challenges and changing market needs. For example, in early 2025, Facebook-parent company Meta laid off 5% of its workforce, targeting its lowest-performing employees, while also hiring more machine learning engineers. In September 2024, Microsoft cut 650 jobs in its Xbox division, and Amazon reduced staff in several areas, including communications and retail. Last year, Apple also let go of around 100 people in its digital services department. These layoffs show that tech companies are making changes to their workforce as they prepare for future growth in areas like AI, cloud computing, and data management.
