Alphabet Inc.’s Google is laying off hundreds of people working on its digital assistant, hardware and engineering teams as part of a continued effort to lower costs and prioritize efforts around artificial intelligence.
The affected employees included those working on the voice-based Google Assistant and at the augmented reality hardware team. The company’s central engineering organization was also hit by cuts, the company said.
The reductions come as Google’s core search business feels the heat from the AI offerings of rivals Microsoft Corp. and ChatGPT-creator OpenAI. On calls with investors, Google executives pledged to scrutinize their operations to identify places where they can make cuts, and free up resources to invest in their biggest priorities.