In recent weeks, Google has undertaken layoffs affecting several employees, particularly in its Python section. The entire Python team was reportedly laid off as part of Google's cost-cutting strategy, aiming to hire less expensive labor outside the United States. A report by Free Press Journal indicated that Google intends to establish a new team in Munich, Germany, to serve as "cheaper" labor.
According to a post on Mastodon by Social.coop, comments from a former member of the Google Python team expressed profound disappointment with the layoffs. The employee, reflecting on their two-decade tenure at Google, described it as the best job they ever had and deemed the layoffs unfair. Another employee expressed anguish over witnessing their entire team, including the manager, being replaced by remote workers from overseas.
The US Python team, comprising less than ten members, played a pivotal role in managing various aspects of Google's Python ecosystem, ensuring its stability, updating it with thousands of third-party packages, and developing a type-checker. These layoffs follow reports of staff cuts in Google's real estate and finance departments.
Google's finance chief, Ruth Porat, communicated to employees via email about the company's ongoing restructuring efforts, with a focus on locations such as Bangalore, Mexico City, and Dublin.
This isn't the first instance of layoffs at Google; earlier this year, the company let go of hundreds of workers across multiple teams, including engineering, hardware, and assistant teams.
