Google cuts jobs in several departments, to affect… employees; Are Indian employees impacted?

Google has told its employees in the “People Operations” department and cloud business unit that it plans to slash jobs as part of an ongoing reorganisation, media reports said citing internal documents.

The global tech giant will offer a voluntary exit program to US-based full-time employees in People Operations – Google’s human relations department – starting early March, according to a memo issued by HR chief Fiona Cicconi.

Google continues to carry out cost-cutting measures in several units as it looks to expand its presence in the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) market this year.

Under the exit program, employees at “Level 4” and “Level 5” may receive a severance of 14 weeks of salary and one additional week for every full year served, the internal memo said. Notably, Level 4 and Level 5 employees are considered to be at mid-level to senior-level.

In the company’s cloud unit, job cuts have been made in several teams, mostly affecting the operations support staff. However, not all affected people will lose their jobs since some of the roles would be moved to other countries.

Some of the affected employees’ roles are being relocated to India and Mexico, CNBC reported.

“Our teams have continued to make changes to operate more efficiently, remove layers, and ensure they are set up for long term success,” Google spokesperson Brandon Asberry said in a statement. “This work is ongoing as we continue to invest in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.”

Earlier this year, Google executives had said they would offer buyouts to US-based staffers in the company’s “Platforms and Devices” unit. More than 25,000 full-time employees work in that department on services such as Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Google Photos, Google One, Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest.

The exact number of layoffs remains unclear but the company said it is a small number and that the firm continues to hire for several sales and engineering roles. However, a report by Bloomberg said around 100 employees in the sales operations team of Google’s cloud division were affected.