Google is laying off hundreds as it moves ‘Core’ jobs abroad

Google laid off at least 200 staffers on its “Core” team in California, CNBC reported Wednesday. Some of those jobs are relocating to its offices in India and Mexico, the outlet said.

Google did not immediately respond to Quartz’s request for comment, but Asim Husain, vice president of Google Developer Ecosystem, told employees in a message seen by CNBC that the company’s role relocations are meant to bring it “closer to our partners and developer communities” abroad, its key markets including India and Brazil.

“Announcements of this sort may leave many of you feeling uncertain or frustrated,” he said, but “are in service of [Google’s] broader goals.”

The Core Systems & Experience division at Google is “responsible for building the technical foundation behind Google’s flagship products, protecting our users’ online safety, and maintaining [its] global IT infrastructure,” its webpage says.

That’s about the same language other tech companies have used as they eliminate positions and go all-in on AI. Google already laid off hundreds of employees on its digital assistant, hardware, and engineering teams in January, and CEO Sundar Pichai warned employees at the time that more cuts could be ahead.

But the Google layoffs are no indication of financial strain. The company is doing more than fine — in fact, Google parent Alphabet reported an increase in profits of 60% in the first quarter from last year.

It’s not the only tech company to pare down its workforce in service of its AI goals. Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta have all laid off workers this year despite being a part of the “Fab Four” tech stocks making continued, blockbuster gains. Overall, there have been nearly 80,000 layoffs in the tech industry across the globe.