Google has laid off hundreds of workers, joining tech companies including Amazon.com in reducing employee count in the new year.
News outlets including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported the layoffs affecting hardware and internal software tools. A spokesman for the company was quoted as saying it was focusing on its biggest priorities and significant opportunities.
The co-founders of Fitbit, which Google bought for $2.1 billion in 2019, also are leaving. At the end of September, Google parent Alphabet
GOOGL,
GOOG,
had 182,381 employees.
Amazon
AMZN,
on Wednesday said it was cutting jobs from its Twitch streaming service, Prime Video and MGM studios, as Unity Software
U,
said it was cutting 1,800 roles.
Google parent Alphabet has seen its shares jump 56% over the last 52 weeks.
