Google, the tech giant, has begun a significant restructuring process that involves job cuts and the relocation of some positions overseas. This transformation is described as a “considerable scale” change, as evidenced by an internal email sent by Ruth Porat, Google’s Chief Financial Officer.
In her email, Porat announced the creation of “growth hubs” in India, Mexico, and Ireland. These hubs are part of Google’s restructuring plan, which involves job cuts in several teams within the company’s finance department. Among the affected units are treasury, business services, and revenue cash operations, as mentioned in a report by Business Insider.
The exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed. However, a current Google employee described these changes as “pretty large-scale”, pointing out that some roles are being moved overseas1.
As part of the restructuring process, Google is expanding its operations in Bangalore, Mexico City, Dublin, and Atlanta. These cities are set to become the company’s new “growth hubs”.
Google’s spokesperson explained the restructuring as a strategic move to position the company for future opportunities. “To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities,” the spokesperson told Business Insider[^Business Insider^].
In addition to the aforementioned changes, Google is simplifying its structures to reduce bureaucracy and layers, providing employees with more opportunities to work on the company’s most innovative and significant advances.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, had warned earlier in the year that additional layoffs would be necessary in 2024. This prediction followed the company’s decision to lay off more than 12,000 workers in the previous year.
These layoffs are part of Google’s strategy to reach “ambitious goals,” as communicated by Pichai in a statement to employees. This announcement came a day after the company made significant cuts to its ad sales team.
In the week preceding the layoffs, Google reduced its headcount across several units, including Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest. These job cuts marked a challenging start to the year for Google’s workforce, which saw a reduction of over 12,000 throughout 2023.
