Google lays off hundreds of staff as tech job losses continue to mount

Google has laid off hundreds of employees working on its global hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams as part of a cost-cutting drive.

The Alphabet-owned tech giant did not reveal exactly how many jobs had been cut, but some reports suggest ‘several hundred’ roles were affected globally while others idicate over 600 jobs had been axed.

Google’s augmented reality hardware team is believed to have been heavily affected.

A year ago, Google said it would lay off 12,000 employees or around 6 per cent of its workforce, in a bid to drive down costs. 

Over 260,000 global tech sector staff were axed last year, according to data compiled by the website Layoffs.fyi. 

Job cuts: Google has laid off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams

In a statement, a spokesperson for Google told MailOnline, said: ‘As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead. 

‘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. 

‘Any proposed organizational team changes are subject to local regulations and processes. We’re continuing to support any impacted employees as they look for new roles here at Google and beyond.’

In a post on X, the Alphabet Workers Union described the job cuts as ‘another round of needless layoffs’.

There have been hundreds of thousands of job losses in the tech sector over the past year, as firm look to streamline their businesses and slash costs.

The cuts peaked in January 2023, when 89,579 people lost their jobs, impacting over 270 companies.

In January 2023, Microsoft confirmed plans to cut 10,000 job cuts across its global operations. Microsoft boss Satya Nadella said the layoffs were the result of a drop in investment.

In May 2023, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta unveiled plans to axe a further 10,000 staff and a fresh hiring freeze as part of a ‘Year of Efficiency’.

Meta’s restructuring, which also saw a further 5,000 unfilled job adverts closed without hiring, came months after the group announced another wave of 11,000 redundancies. 

This week, Amazon’s livestreaming site, Twitch, announced plans to cut 35 per cent of its workforce, equating to around 500 staff. The group is battling to bolster its balance sheet amid higher costs.

There have also been casualties in the world of crypto, which was battered by ongoing instability. Coinbase and Crypto.com both made significant cuts in 2023.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk