Even the giants are immune from the effects of the credit crunch, it seems. So perhaps it’s no surprise that Google announced its first layoffs, as 200 people in sales and marketing will be laid off.
The company attributes the layoffs to its rapid growth, which has led to a duplication of some roles, meaning the staff reduction is simply a streamlining move. In the company blog a posting read:
“Making changes of this kind is never easy—and we recognize that the recession makes the timing even more difficult for the Googlers concerned. We did look at a number of different options but ultimately concluded that we had to restructure our organizations in order to improve our effectiveness and efficiency as a business.”
It’s anticipated that most of the job cuts will occur within US operations.