At a recent all-hands meeting, a Google executive disclosed that the company has trimmed its pool of managers handling very small teams by roughly 35% in the past year. The restructuring is part of an effort to streamline operations and boost productivity, with many of those managers transitioning into individual contributor positions.
“Right now, we have 35% fewer managers, with fewer direct reports than at this time a year ago,” said Brian Welle, vice president of people analytics and performance, during a meeting.
According to CNBC, which cited a source with knowledge of the situation, the 35% cut relates to managers supervising fewer than three team members. The source noted that many of these managers have remained at the company but shifted into roles as individual contributors. The person requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.
Welle stated that the objective is to enhance the company’s efficiency while reducing layers of bureaucracy. “When we look across our entire leadership population, that’s managers, directors and VPs, we want them to be a smaller percentage of our overall workforce over time,” he said.
Google Voluntary Exit Program:
The company has also expanded buyout offers through its Voluntary Exit Program (VEP) across 10 product areas, including search, marketing, hardware and people operations.
Fiona Cicconi, Google’s chief people officer, said between 3% and 5% of employees in those divisions have opted for the program this year. Pichai described buyouts as a more employee-friendly alternative to blanket layoffs, adding that the approach “gives people agency.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s take:
During the meeting, CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized that as Google expands, it must focus on operating more efficiently rather than relying solely on increasing headcount.
In 2023, the company reduced its workforce by around 6% and has since introduced further cutbacks across several units. Alphabet’s chief financial officer, Anat Ashkenazi—who came on board last year—remarked in October that she intended to drive cost reductions even further. Since January, Google has been offering voluntary exit packages, curbing new hiring, and urging staff to achieve more with fewer resources.
