Google is not done yet with its layoffs this year after CEO Sundar Pichai warned staff that more job cuts are expected to drop soon.
In a staff memo obtained by The Verge, Pichai said the company has to make some "tough choices" in order to "simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas."
The tech giant announced several "role eliminations" across multiple divisions, including its hardware, sales, and YouTube teams, for just this month alone.
Estimates bring the total job cuts this year alone up to over a thousand.
Google laid off more than 12,000 employees or 6% of its total workforce the previous year, one of its largest job cuts in history.
Google Transitions Towards AI Tech
The surge of layoffs coincides with Google's announcement of its AI-powered campaign planner, Performance Max, which it first launched in 2021.
Google has been integrating the AI technology to more of its service platforms as it adds new features to the AI.
Just last year, Google added generative AI image capabilities as a way to "create custom assets and scale them in a few clicks". The service was mainly marketed towards third-party businesses.
It is not hard to think if some ex-employees air their grievances online about the shifting attention of the company away from its human workers.
As a consolation, Pichai assured that some teams "will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions" and be moved to other divisions following the corporate reorganization.
Google is also offering the standard separation package for those who opt out of the company or does not fit for any of the remaining open roles.
Tech Industry Suffers More Job Loss, Lower Hirings Amid AI Campaign
Google is not the only big tech that has been cutting off employees over the course of past 12 months.
The IT industry as a whole has been suffering slower job growth amid the layoffs and downsized hiring slots. Meanwhile, popularity of AI has been on an uptick for these businesses.
The International Monetary Fund estimated that over 40% of all the jobs worldwide are "exposed" to the AI impact, more so in developed countries where the numbers go up as high as 60%.
