As Google Shifts Gears To Focus On AI, Waymo Cuts Jobs

Waymo, a self-driving firm owned by Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, has lost dozens of jobs as its parent reduces spending and intensifies its focus on artificial intelligence.

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What took place: The corporation announced the second wave of job layoffs for this year. According to Trade Algo, who cited an email from the business, Waymo reduced several engineering positions and realigned headcount in order to approach the current year with more financial restraint.

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More than 200 individuals have lost their jobs at Waymo so far this year, or over 8% of the employment of the self-driving division, according to Trade Algo, citing The Information.

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Why It Matters: In January, Alphabet announced the elimination of 12,000 jobs. Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Twitter also disclosed similar staff reductions at the time.

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Alphabet's Google is battling Microsoft-backed OpenAi's ChatGPT, which has emerged as a challenger to the latter's hegemony in search, in the meantime.

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Google has developed a project named "Atlas" under its cloud division and tested a chatbot dubbed "Apprentice Bard" to answer to ChatGPT.

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Price movement: On Wednesday, Alphabet's Class A shares concluded the regular trading session 0.3% higher at $90.36, while the stock's Class C shares finished the day 0.2% higher, according to Benzinga Pro data.