Alphabet-owned Google has laid off hundreds of employees in its Platforms and Devices division on Thursday, a move that affects teams behind Android software, Pixel phones, and the Chrome browser.
This was reported by The Information on Friday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
According to the report, the latest decision marks a continued effort to streamline operations in the face of broader restructuring at the tech giant.
A Google spokesperson said the layoffs were part of efforts to become more nimble and operate more effectively after merging the Platforms and Devices teams, alongside a voluntary exit program offered in January.
“Since combining the Platforms and Devices teams last year, we’ve focused on becoming more nimble and operating more effectively and this included making some job reductions in addition to the voluntary exit program that we offered in January.”
The layoffs come months after the company offered voluntary exit packages to employees in the same unit back in January 2025.
What you should know
The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, has advised employees to brace for further job cuts as the company ramps up cost-cutting measures across operations.
- This caution came just a day after Google’s video-sharing platform, YouTube, reportedly laid off 100 workers across several divisions, including engineering, services, and Google Assistant. Google also cut jobs in its digital assistant, hardware, and engineering teams.
- The company’s core search business is under growing pressure from AI-driven competitors such as Microsoft and OpenAI.
- Google had earlier announced a voluntary buyout program for employees in its Platforms and Devices unit, which has over 25,000 full-time staff working on Android, Chrome, Pixel, and Fitbit.
The buyout, which closed on February 20, allowed U.S.-based employees to exit with severance packages, especially those whose personal goals no longer align with the unit’s evolving priorities.
Earlier in January 2023, Alphabet had announced a significant downsizing plan involving 12,000 job cuts—approximately 6% of its global workforce—as the company grappled with post-pandemic economic shifts and declining ad revenues.
Tech layoffs in 2025
The wave of layoffs in the global tech industry has continued into 2025, with over 27,000 employees affected so far this year, according to data from Layoffs.fyi, an independent layoff tracker.
- The report shows that February alone accounted for 16,084 of the job losses, making it the worst-hit month in the first quarter. These new figures come on the heels of a turbulent 2024, during which more than 150,000 jobs were slashed across 549 tech companies worldwide.
- As cost-cutting remains a priority for many firms grappling with economic uncertainty and rising investment in artificial intelligence, industry watchers expect the downsizing trend to persist across several major platforms.
