Layoffs in the tech industry show little sign of slowing down. Companies often justify workforce reductions as part of restructuring efforts designed to improve efficiency, creating expectations that operations will become leaner and future cuts may be avoided. However, many firms return months later with fresh rounds of layoffs. Now, only weeks after Meta announced job cuts affecting thousands of employees, Google has reportedly initiated another round of layoffs within its Cloud division.
According to a report by Business Insider, employees within Google Cloud have faced layoffs over the past two weeks. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report said one of the affected units was Google’s Threat Intelligence Group – a key security team known for publishing research on hackers and emerging cyber threats.
Several employees have also shared posts on LinkedIn indicating they were impacted by the layoffs.
The layoffs were reportedly not restricted to a single unit. According to the report, several teams at Mandiant – the cybersecurity firm acquired by Google in 2022 – along with other groups within Google Cloud, were also impacted by the job cuts.
Why Is Google Cutting Jobs Again?
It is still unclear how many employees were affected or what specifically prompted the latest round of layoffs. However, in at least one case, Google reportedly said the cuts were aimed at reallocating resources toward growth-focused areas, including artificial intelligence.
“We regularly evaluate our internal structures to ensure we are best positioned to meet the evolving demands of our customers and the industry,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider.
Although the company has not explicitly connected these layoffs to its AI ambitions, the timing aligns with a broader trend of major technology firms investing billions of dollars into artificial intelligence infrastructure, products, and research initiatives.
Google Joins the Growing List of Tech Firms Announcing Layoffs
Google is the latest technology company to trim its workforce amid a broader wave of layoffs across the industry.
On May 20, nearly 8,000 Meta employees reportedly received emails at around 4 a.m. informing them that their roles had been eliminated, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the company’s global workforce.
Microsoft has also continued cost-cutting efforts through multiple rounds of layoffs. As of June 2025, the company employed around 228,000 people globally, including 125,000 in the United States. Most recently, Microsoft cut 9,000 jobs. Earlier this year, it also introduced voluntary retirement buyouts for up to 7 percent of its workforce – the first initiative of its kind at that scale for the company.
Meanwhile, some firms have been more open about AI’s influence on workforce decisions. Companies such as Coinbase and Block have previously cited artificial intelligence while announcing major job cuts.
Even cybersecurity firms have not escaped the wave of layoffs. Last month, Cloudflare cut more than 1,100 jobs as the company prepared for what it called the “agentic AI era.”