Media reports suggest Google could lay off as many as 30,000 employees from its ad sales unit following a growing prowess of artificial intelligence (AI) in the corporate world.
According to a report first published by The Information (gated) last week, the plans come after a successful implementation of AI-powered advertising services at Google, which has significantly reduced the need for human oversight.
Sean Downey, President of Americas & Global Partners at Google, allegedly disclosed these details in an internal meeting, highlighting a significant shift in the company's operational strategy.
The introduction of Google Performance Max, an AI-driven ad service launched in 2021, has been a critical factor in this transition.
Utilizing machine learning, Performance Max can generate and manage ads across various Google platforms, significantly reducing the necessity for human involvement in these processes.
The tool's adoption since its debut at the 2023 Google I/O event has led to a paradigm shift in how advertisers manage their assets, making a large part of Google's ad sales team redundant.
The workforce reduction trend is not isolated to Google — Tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Meta have also been resizing their workforce.
According to workforce reduction tracker Layoffs.fyi, 1,179 tech companies laid off 261,847 employees in 2023 across the U.S.