Google is looking to cut costs so that it can invest more on artificial intelligence. After laying of 12,000 people in January this year, it has now let go hundreds of people in the recruiting team. This is because, the number of requests for the recruiting team have gone down.
The hiring team at Google was once 3,000 strong. Part of this team was impacted in the January round of layoffs when about three per cent of the workforce had been let go. Now, this latest round will affect some more.
The members of the recruiting team had been conveyed the news of job cuts in an emergency meeting. As per media reports, the employees were informed of the layoffs by Brian Ong, vice president – recruiting personally as he did not want them to hear the news from any other source.
Right now it seems that only the recruiting division has been impacted, but the likelihood of layoffs happening in other teams over time cannot be ruled out.
Last month, there was news of Google Assistant, the virtual assistant software application available primarily on mobile and home automation devices being prepared for a makeover. There were reports that the app would be infused with generative artificial intelligence (AI), which will enhance its features. That means, Assistant will now probably be able to give more intelligent and meaningful answers to even complex questions. At the time, it was highlighted that while this may be great news for the users of the app, those who have been working on the same all this while may end up losing their jobs.
