Google Makes Mass Layoffs in Ad Sales Team, Marks Latest Cuts

Google is back on mass layoffs. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc, announced on Tuesday, January 16 that it was laying off hundreds of employees in its advertising sales team, marking the latest cuts at the search giant.

The move adds to signs that job cuts will continue this year, as companies look to adopt artificial intelligence software and automation to ease workloads.

These job cuts come after Google announced last week that it would lay off a number of employees within its Voice Assistant unit, the hardware team responsible for its Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit products, as well as within its augmented reality team.

Google's customer solutions unit, which serves mid-level advertising clients, will be a core team for future growth, the company said. Business Insider first reported the news earlier in the day.

Amazon.com  also announced last week that they would be laying off several hundred employees in their streaming and studio operations, as well as 500 workers on their video streaming platform, Twitch.

Last month, Google, once billed as a leader in pushing artificial intelligence research, launched its anticipated Gemini artificial intelligence model, as the company attempts to catch up with Microsoft in the artificial intelligence race.

In January 2023, Alphabet announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of their total global workforce.