Google has eliminated 1 out of 3 small-team managers in the past one year

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Google has eliminated more than a third of its managers overseeing small teams as part of its efficiency overdrive, according to a top executive, even as the world’s biggest search engine looks to hold its own in an increasingly AI-driven world.

The 35% reduction refers to the number of Google managers who oversee fewer than three people.(AFP)

“Right now, we have 35% fewer managers, with fewer direct reports” than at this time a year ago, Brian Welle, vice president of people analytics and performance, said during an all-hands meeting—the audio for which was reviewed by CNBC. “So, a lot of progress there.”

The employees had asked about job security, “internal barriers” and Google’s culture after several rounds of layoffs, buyouts and reorganisations.

The idea is to reduce bureaucracy and run the company more efficiently, Wells said. “When we look across our entire leadership population—that’s managers, directors and vice presidents—we want them to be a smaller percentage over time.”

The 35% reduction refers to the number of managers who oversee fewer than three people, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Many of those managers stayed with the company as individual contributors, said this person, who asked not to be named because the details are private.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai weighed in at the meeting, reiterating the need for the company “to be more efficient as we scale up so we don't solve everything with headcount”.

Google eliminated about 6% of its workforce in 2023, and has implemented cuts in various divisions since then. Alphabet Inc.’s finance chief Anat Ashkenazi, who joined the company last year, had said in October that she would push cost cuts “a little further”.

Google has offered buyouts to employees since January, and the company has slowed hiring, asking employees to do more with less.

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