Flutter, Dart and Python are among those affected by the latest layoffs, according to media reports and employee social media posts.
Google confirmed the layoffs to TechCrunch but did not specify which teams, roles or how many employees were laid off. A representative told the outlet that the layoffs were not company-wide and that affected employees could apply for other open positions.
A Google representative told Business Insider: “As we’ve said, we’re investing responsibly in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead. To best position ourselves for these opportunities, Throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams have made changes to become more efficient and work better, removing layers and aligning their resources with their biggest product priorities.
“With this, we are simplifying our structures to give employees more opportunities to work on our most innovative and important advancements and our biggest business priorities, while reducing bureaucracy and layering.”
The layoffs hit key developer teams just weeks before Google’s annual I/O developer conference on May 14-15.
A product manager working on Flutter and Dart said in a post the layoffs were decided at least “a few levels above our team and affected A LOT of teams. A lot of good people received bad news and a lot of big projects lost people.”
At the beginning of this year, Google has laid off hundreds of employees in its central engineering division and members of its hardware teams. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai warned staff at the time that “role eliminations” would continue until 2024.
Google’s parent company already laid off around 6% of its staffor around 12,000 workers the previous year.
The continued layoffs have sparked backlash from Googlers, with some organizing protests and lashing out at top executives.
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