Google CEO Sundar Pichai has warned staff members about impending job layoffs in 2024 in a statement titled “2024 priorities and the year ahead.” The company’s lofty aims for the year, notably in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), are outlined in the memo that CNBC was able to get. Google leadership, according to Pichai, is getting ready to reveal its AI goals for the year and will soon release its 2024 OKRs (objectives and key results).
The CEO acknowledged the need for tough choices to create the capacity for investment in priority areas, emphasizing the removal of roles and simplification of execution to drive velocity. Pichai stated, “The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices.”
This announcement comes as a continuation of Google’s cost-cutting measures, which began in January of 2023 with the elimination of 12,000 jobs, constituting approximately 6% of the full-time workforce. The company has also scaled back on perks, laptops, and equipment. Recent layoffs have affected various departments, including central engineering, hardware, and advertising.
However, Pichai made it clear that the upcoming job cuts would not be as extensive as the reductions seen in the previous year. He reassured that not all teams would be affected by these cuts. Despite these difficulties, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw a significant increase of 55% in their shares last year. This can be attributed to the overall rise in technology stocks after a challenging 2022. The enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), exemplified by the recent introduction of Google’s Gemini, has contributed to this positive trend. Gemini, which is Google’s most powerful and largest AI model, has displayed exceptional performance in certain tests when compared to OpenAI’s GPT-4, the creator of ChatGPT.
As the tech giant navigates this period of transformation, employees brace for potential job cuts and the industry watches closely. Google’s focus on AI and other strategic priorities adds to the anticipation.