Tech giant Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company has cut top management roles by 10% as it doubles down on its efficiency-driven approach to the lean organization.
According to a report by Business insiderPichai said at Wednesday’s all-hands meeting that the company has made changes over the past few years to simplify the structure and make it more efficient.
These changes include a 10% reduction in the roles of managers, directors, and vice presidents. While some roles in that figure were transitioned to individual contributor roles, some were eliminated.
The push for efficiency comes as the firm sees increasing competition from AI rivals such as OpenAI for its search business.
Just a day ago, AI-powered search engine Perplexity raised $500 million in its fourth funding round led by IVP (Institutional Venture Partners).
The round tripled the company’s value to $9 billion. The Nvidia-backed company was last valued at $1 billion in April and then $3 billion in June after receiving an investment of between $10 million and $20 million from SoftBank Group Vision Fund 2.
Google isn’t the only tech player moving toward leaner organizational structures. In March 2023, Meta Platforms announced 10,000 job cuts in its second round of layoffs. The restructuring phase included scrapping hiring plans for 5,000 openings, closing low-priority projects, and “flattening” layers of middle management. The company will eliminate multiple layers of management, eliminate non-engineering roles, automate functions, and ask more managers to become individual contributors.
In India, the Nikhil Kamath-backed 1% Club led by finance tycoon Sharan Hegde cut 15% of its workforce this year as part of an AI-led cost-saving initiative to streamline jobs.
“We have identified significant AI-driven cost savings that can increase profitability and efficiency that can be reinvested in business growth,” Hegde said in a post on LinkedIn.