From Nasdaq:

Alphabet’s Google is laying off hundreds of employees, including Fitbit co-founders Park and Friedman, as part of a cost-cutting push. The layoffs affect the Voice Assistant, hardware, and augmented reality teams. Google purchased Fitbit for $2.1 billion but has continued to release competing products like the Pixel Watch.

A spokesperson for Google confirmed that the company made changes in the second half of 2023 to become more efficient and align resources with product priorities. The exact number of roles impacted was not specified, but last year, Alphabet announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs, equivalent to 6% of its global workforce. As of September 2023, Alphabet had 182,381 employees worldwide.

Last year, Google announced plans to add generative AI capabilities to its virtual assistant. It is unclear how many people are part of the Google Assistant software and Devices and Services teams. The company is continuing to make organizational changes in various teams, resulting in some job eliminations globally. No specifics were provided.



Read more: Google lays off hundreds working on Assistant, hardware, AR teams