Job reductions persist at Google and Rivian as both firms continued to downsize their staff on Wednesday. This is indicative of a broader pattern of layoffs within the tech sector this year.
Google recently implemented layoffs affecting an unspecified number of employees, although these reductions were not implemented across the entire company. Described as a reorganization within the normal operations of the business, affected employees will have the opportunity to apply for other positions within the company.
Google refrained from confirming or denying a Business Insider report suggesting that departments such as finance (encompassing Google's treasury, business services, and revenue cash operations) and real estate units were affected by the layoffs. Although one employee indicated to the publication that the changes were significant in scale, a Google spokesperson did verify to Fast Company that the layoffs were not executed company-wide.
Alongside the layoffs announced today, Google's restructuring plan involves the relocation of certain positions overseas and to key hubs within the United States where the company is actively investing.
"As we've stated previously, we are making responsible investments in our company's primary objectives and the substantial opportunities on the horizon," stated a spokesperson from Google to Fast Company. "To effectively position ourselves for these opportunities, numerous teams within our organization implemented changes during the latter half of 2023 and into 2024 to enhance efficiency, streamline operations, eliminate unnecessary layers, and allocate resources towards our key product priorities. Through this process, we are simplifying our organizational structures to provide employees with greater opportunities to contribute to our most innovative and crucial advancements, while reducing bureaucratic obstacles and unnecessary layers."
Meanwhile, Rivian reduced its workforce by approximately 1%. This decision comes merely two months after the company terminated 10% of its employees due to diminished demand for its vehicles, as well as electric vehicles in general, and a production forecast for 2024 that fell below expectations.
Rivian did not provide an immediate response to Fast Company's request for comment regarding the reports.
According to Layoffs.fyi, approximately 75,000 tech workers have lost their jobs at 257 companies year-to-date. Among these companies are notable names such as Tesla, Dell, Cisco, and SAP.
The recent layoffs at Google were anticipated earlier this year. In January, the company initiated significant workforce reductions across various departments and implemented restructurings in several divisions, ranging from search to YouTube. CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at that time that further changes could be on the horizon.
"We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our major priorities this year," Pichai stated in an internal memo. "The truth is, to generate the capacity for these investments, we have to make difficult decisions."
The layoffs in 2024 follow a previous round of job cuts in January 2023, which resulted in the termination of 12,000 positions.
Rivian's challenges began with the announcement of its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings in February. During that period, the company reported a loss of $1.5 billion, coinciding with the announcement of layoffs. At that time, Rivian employed 16,700 individuals, although it was unclear how many were considered salaried employees, making it difficult to determine the exact number of people affected both during the initial announcement and the subsequent layoffs on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, shares of Google's parent company, Alphabet, closed up by 0.5%, whereas Rivian's stock remained largely unchanged, gaining only 0.34% on the news. Year-to-date, Alphabet's stock has increased by 12.5%, while Rivian's has experienced a significant decline, losing nearly 59% of its value.