Google’s news aggregating service, Google News, recently experienced staff cuts, according to reports. Although the exact number of job losses has not been disclosed, it is believed that approximately three dozen employees were affected. This reduction in workforce comes after Google laid off 12,000 employees in January and made cuts in its recruiting division just last month.
While the number of job cuts in Google News may seem small in comparison, they appear to have been targeted, with several “director decapitations” among those affected. Shailesh Prakash, the Vice President of Google News, addressed the layoffs in an all-hands meeting, stating that the company needed to streamline its operations. Prakash also acknowledged that Google had hired too many people during the pandemic and that a “reckoning” was necessary.
Specifically, Prakash highlighted an increase in employees in Level 8 and Level 9 roles, who reportedly earn salaries ranging from at least $1 million to as much as $2 million per year. This information is based on data from salary tracking database levels.fyi.
Insider reached out to Google for comment on the job cuts, but the company has yet to respond.