Google to fire 30,000 more employees? Report suggests AI jobs may lead to restructuring inside company

In a bid to embrace the increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in its operations, Google is reportedly contemplating a substantial reorganization within its 30,000-person ad sales unit. This move, however, has sparked concerns about potential job cuts, particularly following Google’s recent layoffs that affected over 12,000 employees in 2023.

This restructuring aligns with Google’s growing reliance on machine-learning techniques to streamline ad purchases across its various platforms. Over the years, the tech giant has introduced AI-powered tools designed to automate the creation of new ads, contributing significantly to its annual revenue, estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars. The efficiency of these tools, coupled with minimal employee involvement, results in high-profit margins.

According to a report from The Information, AI advancements within Google may lead to job displacement, prompting the company to consider staff consolidation and potential layoffs by reassigning employees in the customer sales unit, responsible for managing relationships with major advertisers, as per the cited source. The decision to automate certain roles was reportedly disclosed during a department-wide Google Ads meeting.

In May, Google unveiled a “new era of AI-powered ads,” introducing a natural-language conversational experience within Google Ads. This initiative aims to simplify ad campaign creation by leveraging AI to scan websites and automatically generate keywords, headlines, descriptions, images, and other assets.