Google Lays Off Hundreds of Employees in Android, Pixel Group

The company's headcount has remained roughly flat in the past year or so.

Google on Thursday laid off hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices unit, which works on Android software, Pixel phones and the Chrome browser, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.

The cuts follow the company’s move in January to offer buyouts to employees in the unit. Google moved Android and Chrome under Pixel and devices executive Rick Osterloh last year. The combined group numbered over 20,000 before the buyout offer.

Google cut 6% of staff in 2023. It has cut some employees since then but its headcount has stayed around 180,000.

“Since combining the Platforms and Devices teams last year, we’ve focused on becoming more nimble and operating more effectively and this included making some job reductions in addition to the voluntary exit program that we offered in January,“ a Google spokesperson said in a statement. Google continues to hire in the US and globally, the spokesperson said.