Tech giant Google has laid off several employees this week in its news division, CNBC reported on Wednesday. According to an Alphabet Workers Union spokesperson, an estimated 40 to 45 workers in Google News lost their jobs. However, the spokesperson said that they are unaware of the exact numbers, adding that there are still hundreds of people working on the news product.
"We're deeply committed to a vibrant information ecosystem, and news is a part of that long-term investment," the Alphabet Workers Union spokesperson said, as per CNBC. "We've made some internal changes to streamline our organization. A small number of employees were impacted. We're supporting everyone with a transition period, outplacement services and severance as they look for new opportunities at Google and beyond," they added.
A Google employee also took to LinkedIn to address the recent layoffs. Rob R, a Staff Software Engineer at the tech giant, described those fired as "some of the best and brightest people".
"These are some of the best and brightest people I've ever worked with, and frankly, I don't expect the calculus behind this decision will ever make sense to me. We're definitely worse off without them," he wrote.
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Notably, the fresh round of layoffs comes amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has pressured online platforms to provide the public with accurate information on the conflict. Several prominent people have also urged online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to take strict steps to contain the spread of false and misleading content about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. However, Google has maintained that the latest round of layoffs won't impact the quality of work in its News division.
"These internal changes have no impact on our misinformation and information quality work in News," Google's spokesperson said.
The recent layoffs also come at a time when the tech giant has been downsizing in recent months to reckon with slowing growth and uncertain economic conditions. Back in January this year, Google announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs. Last month, the company also eliminated hundreds of positions from its recruiting organisation.
