Tech

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says the tech giant's staff must brace for more job cuts in 2024

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in front of the Google logo.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai says there will be more layoffs at the search giant in 2024.

"These role eliminations are not at the scale of last year's reductions, and will not touch every team," Pichai told employees on Wednesday, per an internal memo seen by The Verge's Alex Heath.

"But I know it's very difficult to see colleagues and teams impacted," Pichai continued.

Pichai was referencing the job cuts that took place last January. Google's parent company, Alphabet, axed around 6% of its employees, or about 12,000 workers.

"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," Pichai's memo said.

The upcoming layoffs, Pichai said, are about "removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas."

"We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our big priorities this year. The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices," Pichai wrote in his internal memo.

A representative for Google confirmed with Business Insider that The Verge's report was accurate but did not specify the number of jobs that would be affected.

Pichai's announcement comes just a week after Google laid off hundreds of staff working on its devices and services. Staff affected included those working on the company's voice-activated assistant and activity tracker, Fitbit.

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Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Kevin was a reporter at Business Insider's Singapore bureau. He reported primarily on the ins and outs of the business world, whether it be breaking news, covering CEO moves, tracking quarterly earnings, or writing explainers.He also covered careers and workplace issues, and has written about career transitions, the FIRE lifestyle, the college internship arms race, and the job hunt struggles faced by computer science majors.BackgroundKevin joined Business Insider's Singapore bureau in 2023. Before that, he was a civil servant at Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. He was appointed to the Singapore government's Public Service Leadership Programme, a talent development programme that develops capable and talented individuals for key leadership positions in the public service.Kevin’s journalism career began in college, where he first worked as a researcher for Channel NewsAsia and The Economist, and later as an intern reporter at Bloomberg News. In 2017, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust awarded him the Leading Change Journalism Bursary. His stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Fortune, The Japan Times, and The Edge Singapore.Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the National University of Singapore, where he was an NUS Merit Scholar. He was also the recipient of the PwC Whole Leadership Award, the NTUC Income Prize, the CFA Singapore Prize, and the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize.