Google has announced significant workforce reductions spanning multiple teams, marking a continued effort by the tech giant to reduce operational costs.
The layoffs include the departure of Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman. The company disclosed that it will be cutting positions in various units, including the Voice Assistant unit, the hardware team overseeing Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit, and the augmented reality (AR) team.
Additionally, a substantial number of roles within Google’s central engineering team will be affected. The decision to streamline its workforce comes as Google seeks to optimize its operations despite recent acquisitions, such as the $2.1 billion purchase of health and fitness tracking company Fitbit in 2021.
Despite this acquisition, Google has continued to introduce new iterations of its Pixel Watch, a product that competes with both Fitbit’s devices and the Apple Watch.
