Alphabet-owned Google is laying off hundreds of employees across several divisions. These include the division working on the voice-activated Google Assistant and the team that manages the Nest, Pixel and Fitbit hardware.<\/p>\n
Google lays off people in Google Voice Assistant and AR Hardware department<\/h2>\n<\/figure>\nA Google<\/a> spokesperson's statement via Tech Crunch says several teams have made changes to become “more efficient and work better, and to align their resources with their biggest product priorities.<\/p>\nThe company also laid off most of the AR hardware team's employees. According to a report by 9to5Google, the company will now work with OEMs. Additionally, Google will restructure so that a single hardware engineering team will handle all product lines.<\/p>\n
A hardware engineering team to take care of all products<\/h2>\n
Previously, each line had a dedicated team handling design, software development, etc. Whether it's a good decision or a barrier to innovation across the company's product line, it includes devices that vary in nature, interface user, design, etc.<\/p>\n
Fitbit co-founders leave Google<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1704962671_816_Google-To-Merge-Several-Product-Engineering-Teams-Into-One-Fires.png\")
<\/figure>\nFitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman also decided to leave. For those catching up, Google acquired the health tracker and smartwatch maker in 2019 for a whopping $2.1 billion that took nearly two years to gain approval.<\/p>\n
However, since then, Google has merged Fitbit products and services into its products. For example, the Google Pixel Watch has most of the hardware and software features originally designed by Fitbit.<\/p>\n
However, now that the co-founders have left the company, Fitbit will either disband completely into Google's wearables or continue to exist as a minor product line that occasionally receives updates and new models. Something similar happened to Beats when Apple acquired it.<\/p>\n
This is the first wave of layoffs this year<\/h2>\n
In 2023, Google has already cut about six percent (around 12,000 people) of its workforce by laying off people across different teams, including Waze, recruiting, and the News department.<\/p>\n
In response to the latest layoffs, the Alphabet workers' union posted a tweet on X (formerly Twitter). The union says the layoffs are \u201cunnecessary\u201d and that the company is laying off employees while making billions.<\/p>\n
You can follow Smartprix on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook, Instagram and Google News. Visit smartprix.com for the latest news, reviews and technical guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A Google<\/a> spokesperson's statement via Tech Crunch says several teams have made changes to become “more efficient and work better, and to align their resources with their biggest product priorities.<\/p>\n The company also laid off most of the AR hardware team's employees. According to a report by 9to5Google, the company will now work with OEMs. Additionally, Google will restructure so that a single hardware engineering team will handle all product lines.<\/p>\n Previously, each line had a dedicated team handling design, software development, etc. Whether it's a good decision or a barrier to innovation across the company's product line, it includes devices that vary in nature, interface user, design, etc.<\/p>\n Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman also decided to leave. For those catching up, Google acquired the health tracker and smartwatch maker in 2019 for a whopping $2.1 billion that took nearly two years to gain approval.<\/p>\n However, since then, Google has merged Fitbit products and services into its products. For example, the Google Pixel Watch has most of the hardware and software features originally designed by Fitbit.<\/p>\n However, now that the co-founders have left the company, Fitbit will either disband completely into Google's wearables or continue to exist as a minor product line that occasionally receives updates and new models. Something similar happened to Beats when Apple acquired it.<\/p>\n In 2023, Google has already cut about six percent (around 12,000 people) of its workforce by laying off people across different teams, including Waze, recruiting, and the News department.<\/p>\n In response to the latest layoffs, the Alphabet workers' union posted a tweet on X (formerly Twitter). The union says the layoffs are \u201cunnecessary\u201d and that the company is laying off employees while making billions.<\/p>\n You can follow Smartprix on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook, Instagram and Google News. Visit smartprix.com for the latest news, reviews and technical guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nA hardware engineering team to take care of all products<\/h2>\n
Fitbit co-founders leave Google<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\nThis is the first wave of layoffs this year<\/h2>\n