Information said Friday that Google, a part of Alphabet Inc., had let go of several hundred employees from its Platform & Devices business, which includes teams that develop the Chrome browser, Android software, and Pixel devices. The decision is the outcome of the business’s ongoing attempts to restructure in order to improve efficiency and agility.

Our objective has been to operate more effectively and nimbly ever since the platform and device teams combined last year. Some workers will be laid off in addition to the voluntary departure programme that was put in place in January, a Google official told The Information.

In response to questions from Reuters, the corporation did not provide an official comment. Although just a few teams were impacted, Bloomberg reported similar cutbacks at Google’s cloud business in February. The steps are a part of Alphabet’s broader cost-cutting effort, which started in January 2023 when the firm revealed intentions to make huge layoffs of around 12,000 employees globally.

The New Leave Policy at DeepMind
In order to retain outstanding talent in the midst of an intensifying global AI competition, Google’s AI business DeepMind has separately put in place a special provision for its UK employees. Workers who want to join a competing AI business are offered the option of “garden leave”, which is a paid one-year hiatus during which they are prohibited from working for a competitor, according to a Business Insider story.

By prohibiting information transmission to competitors, the non-compete agreement, which is tailored depending on the strategic value and position of workers, offers Google a competitive advantage. Although they are not permitted to work for other AI businesses, employees on plantation leave continue to get full compensation.

In the race for dominance in artificial intelligence, where safeguarding and protecting intellectual property is becoming more crucial, this move shows how seriously major tech corporations like Google are treating the issue.