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Google hardware has become best-in-class in recent years, with Pixel phones and Pixel smartwatches becoming some of the best Android has to offer which makes recent layoffs, including from Fitbit, a little bit of a surprise. Google’s talent and hardware teams just took a massive hit, as Google is laying off a thousand employees across multiple divisions of the company. The true scope of the layoffs isn’t known right now, but it’s at least a thousand. 9to5Google first reported that restructuring caused hundreds of employees in Google’s AR division to lose their jobs last night. Later, it was revealed those layoffs were just the tip of the iceberg.
Google confirmed that “a few hundred” jobs in the company’s AR, core engineering, and Google Assistant teams had been cut in each team, in a statement to The Verge. That totals around a thousand employees, at least, depending on what “a few” really means. Based on that figure, Google laid off about 0.5% of its total employees, according to September employment data.
“A few hundred roles are being eliminated in DSPA with the majority of impacts on the 1P AR Hardware team,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement regarding AR layoffs. “While we are making changes to our 1P AR hardware team, Google continues to be deeply committed to other AR initiatives, such as AR experiences in our products, and product partnerships.”
Later, after more layoffs were revealed, Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini did not respond to The Verge’s inquiry into the full scope of the cuts. However, Mencini did say that “a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better.” She also stated that “some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.”
The layoffs are part of a restructuring involving AR, Google, and Fitbit
Layoffs and leadership departures are happening in separate Google teams, but it seems to be part of a larger reorganization. James Park and Eric Friedman, the co-founders of Fitbit, are leaving Google. Other heads in the Fitbit division are said to be leaving as well, and this could mark the demise of Fitbit. As the Pixel Watch starts to find its footing, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Google is also getting out of the AR hardware game, and that explains the layoffs. The company won’t stop working with AR tech, it just won’t be building hardware in-house. Instead, expect Google to work with other OEMs to produce AR hardware. Google plans to streamline its Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit hardware teams, too. These teams will now work more closely together, as opposed to being separate divisions.
The cuts are the latest round of layoffs to hit Google, and big tech as a whole. Nearly a year ago, Google laid off 12,000 workers in January 2023.