The tech layoffs were thought to be left behind in 2023, but tech giants continue to conduct job cuts with some saying that it was due to cutting costs. Google, on the other hand, is earning more year-over-year, yet continues to cut jobs across departments.
$700 Million in One Month
Back in 2023, more than 12,000 employees said goodbye to their jobs at Google, and the company has been continuing to add to that number ever since. This 2024 in just a month, Google has dished out $700 million for that endeavor.
Why is it such a huge amount? These are the severance packages that were provided to more than a thousand employees who were let go. If you're wondering why Google continues to do so, it's safe to say that it's not due to cutting costs as the company saw a growth in revenue in 2023.
The search engine giant managed to reach new peaks last year as it saw a 13% increase year over year with $86 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. Google's search engine alone earned $48 billion, which is also almost a 13% increase year over year, as reported by The Verge.
This is likely due to the company expanding its AI functions, particularly how it is being used across Google products. Company CEO Sundar Pichai said that the steady growth was brought by AI as it invests more in its Gemini model.
With its advancement, it is now capable of doing the job that human workers used to do. Pichai expressed that 2024 is the era for Gemini as they expect it to work across several Google products, which comes as a stronger arrival with the upcoming release of Gemini Ultra.
"Gemini Ultra is coming soon. The team is already working on the next version and bringing it to our products, starting with Search," says the CEO. With the growth seen in 2023 after layoffs, the business decision to continue on this trajectory makes sense.
Unfortunately for its employees, the move that might see an increase in revenue means that layoffs will not be ending anytime soon. More jobs might be cut as automation becomes prevalent in Google with its growing AI use.
Read Also: AI Too Expensive to Replace Most Workers Yet, MIT Study Says
When Will Tech Layoffs End?
The answer to that is not quite simple, but even in the most optimistic outlook, job cuts will continue to be felt across tech companies. Some are still recovering from the surge of user growth during the pandemic.
This forced companies to hire more employees to oversee operations and make sure that everything ran smoothly. Sadly, the user increase dwindled as soon as the pandemic died down, meaning that companies had to return to their original numbers before it began.
In addition to keeping things "profitable," companies are also seeing how AI can be a cheaper solution when it comes to certain operations, as opposed to having human employees. Compared to what they can earn in the long run, Google's 2023 layoff cost of $2.1 billion is small potatoes.
Related: Silicon Valley Laid Off Nearly 25,000 Workers in January Alone
