Here’s CEO Sundar Pichai’s take: the company is scrutinizing ‘every aspect’ as it strives to become 20% more efficient.
According to recent comments by CEO Sundar Pichai, Google, the tech giant that announced plans to lay off approximately 12,000 employees globally in January, may be facing a second round of layoffs. In a discussion with the Wall Street Journal, Pichai stated that the company is “very, very focused” on its current opportunities and prioritizing its most important areas while moving people accordingly. When asked about the goal of making the company 20 percent more efficient, Pichai explained that they are “literally looking at every aspect of what we do” and working on durably re-engineering their cost base.
While Pichai did not confirm or deny the possibility of a second round of layoffs, the company’s efforts to improve efficiency are apparent. Google has already changed employee services, including reducing the frequency of laptop updates and cutting down on small expenses like staplers and snacks.
The timing of the previous round of layoffs coincided with the lackluster debut of the Google Bard AI, which made a factual error during its presentation, leading to a $100 billion wipe-out in Google’s valuation. The company has since been focused on creating durable savings, with Pichai noting that progress has been made, but there is still more work to be done.
It remains to be seen if Google will resort to a second round of layoffs, but the company is undoubtedly focused on improving efficiency and prioritizing essential areas. Meta and Amazon are two other tech giants that have resorted to a second round of layoffs, highlighting the competitive nature of the industry and the need to adapt and stay ahead.