Concerns grow over imminent layoffs at Google Israel

As reports proliferate in the US that Google parent company Alphabet is preparing an extensive round of up to 30,000 layoffs, with a focus on the advertising and marketing division, sources close to the matter have told “Globes” that the measure will include employees in Israel. Google Israel has 2,000 employees including 600 in the advertising and marketing division. However, the sources do not know exactly how many Israeli employees will be dismissed in the round of layoffs.

Reports in the US say that the search engine giant Google is expected to implement its new employee rating method, as part of which about 2% of employees are expected to be fired – about 3,500 jobs cut. But the bulk of the job losses stem from a significant change in the company’s marketing and advertising division, among other things due to Google’s implementation of AI tools, and the greater use of automation in these divisions worldwide. However, it is not clear to what extent the tool can be used to replace Hebrew-speaking employees.

No response from Google Israel has been forthcoming.

Last January, Google implemented a 6% round of cuts totaling about 12,000 layoffs. An estimated 6% of the 2,200 employees in Israel at the start of 2023 lost their jobs and later in the year more jobs were cut when Waze and Google Maps merged their advertising departments.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 9, 2024.

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