Company fires hundreds from AI, hardware division, FitBit founders also fired

Google has laid off hundreds of people in a fresh round of layoffs. The tech giant laid people off mainly from its voice assistant and hardware divisions, like the ike Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit. Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman are also leaving as part of this restructuring

In a recent development, Google has implemented significant layoffs, affecting numerous employees across various divisions, encompassing engineering and services.

The restructuring measures extend to critical areas such as the voice-activated Google Assistant, a component of the knowledge and information product team, as well as the Devices and Services PA (DSPA) team, responsible for overseeing hardware like Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit.

While Google, with a workforce of 182,000 employees as of September 30, 2023, has officially acknowledged the layoffs, the company seeks to downplay the impact, attributing it to organizational changes.

A spokesperson for Google stated, “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.

Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.”

Expressing dissent, the Alphabet Worker Union characterized the layoffs as “needless” and criticized the company for dismissing employees while reporting substantial profits.

Additionally, Google has made strategic adjustments within its AR hardware team, opting to collaborate with other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

This move involves consolidating multiple hardware engineering teams into a single unit, replacing the previous individual teams dedicated to Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest.

As part of the restructuring, Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman are departing from Google. James Park played a significant role in introducing the Pixel Watch line of smartwatches to Google’s hardware lineup. Google’s acquisition of Fitbit for $2.1 billion in 2019 was finalized in 2021, leading to the integration of Fitbit products into Google’s ecosystem.

Furthermore, reports indicate that Google has let go of personnel from the Google Assistant team, signalling a broader shift within the company. In the past year, Google has experienced layoffs across various departments, including the Waze mapping service in June, the recruiting team in September, and the news division in October.

(With inputs from agencies)