Google has reportedly laid off its entire Python team, with speculation online suggesting the move is aimed at cutting costs and rehiring “cheap labor”.
As first reported by the Free Press Journal, members of the team responsible for Python development will be cut and a new team established in Munich, Germany.
The US-based Python team is believed to have fewer than 10 members, all of whom were responsible for overseeing the tech giant’s Python ecosystem, including maintenance of third-party software.
Speculation over the layoffs circulated social media over the weekend, with some users alleging to be current or former employees commenting on the matter.
In a post on Mastodon, one user suggested that members of the Python team have been asked to on-board new hires for the overseas team.
“It’s a tough day when everyone you work with directly, including your manager, is laid off – excuse me, ‘had their roles reduced’, and you’re asked to onboard their replacements,” they said.
In a statement given to ITPro, a spokesperson for Google did not deny the claims of job cuts, but pointed toward the company’s current strategy of cost-cutting.
“As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead. To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers and align their resources to their biggest product priorities,” the spokesperson said.
“Through this, we’re simplifying our structures to give employees more opportunity to work on our most innovative and important advances and our biggest company priorities, while reducing bureaucracy and layers.”
The move from Google follows a period of significant cuts at the tech giant. In January, CEO Sundar Pichai told staff to prepare for more layoffs amid a concerted effort to reduce costs and “drive velocity” in key business areas.
“We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our big priorities this year,” the memo reads. “The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices,” he told staff in an internal memo.
Within days, the company announced additional cuts at subsidiary units, including YouTube.
