X Lab, set up by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is laying off members of its team. The objective is to restructure the lab such that its projects are able to function as individual startups with Alphabet backing as well as external support, as reported by Bloomberg.
This move, it is hoped, will help bag funding from external investors for various projects and ventures by the lab, which is referred to as ‘The moonshot factory’.
.
The lab will work on partnering with financial partners and others while maintaining a lean, agile and cost-efficient team. By focusing on inventing technologies that will offer solutions to global challenges, X lab hopes to concentrate on its strength, that is, innovations.
Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the X Lab was established to address global issues including access to Internet and even climate change. However, funds and financial backing has always been an issue.
Meanwhile, the Alphabet Workers Union, that speaks on behalf of the workers, says that due to mass layoffs, the union is planning protests to question how Google makes decisions and communicates with its employees. On 18 January 2024, the Alphabet Workers Union had arranged protests at five Google offices across the US, from California to New York.
A senior software engineer and communications chair of the union, expressed concerns about the chaos and anxiety caused by the layoff rounds. Google, however, had defended its actions, saying it was investing responsibly in priorities and opportunities.
