Despite the staggering artificial intelligence (AI) boom that has permeated the stock market and multiple industries since at least the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, employment in the technology sector has been far from stable.
In fact, since the start of 2023, approximately 300,000 workers lost their jobs and Elon Musk’s beleaguered electric vehicle (EV) maker, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) is poised to add several tens of thousands more to the tally.
Finally, in mid-April, another veritable giant appears bent on joining the trend as Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat reportedly recently sent a memo regarding restructuring, redeployments, and layoffs.
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Google readies for AI-centric restructuring
The April memo comes as a fulfillment of a January promise – or warning – made by Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai that the year would likely feature additional job cuts.
The restructuring will be made with taking greater advantage of the AI boom in mind and with an eye for providing more useful products to users. It will likely entail layoffs, redeployments, and centralization into various hubs around the world.
It will particularly affect the finance division, according to Porat and the team will be centered in India and Mexico. The company also revealed that it intends to maintain a significant presence in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Bangalore, Mexico City, Dublin, Chicago and Atlanta.
While corporate reshuffles to better facilitate the continuation of the AI boom are far from uncommon – with Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) efforts being a prominent example – if history is a teacher, the fact it is the earnings season might also be playing a role.
Indeed, a reshuffle could help Google foster a significant stock market rise and generally help it provide stronger profit figures. A prime example of such a practice at play emerged in 2019 when the gaming giant Activision Blizzard – recently acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) – fired 800 employees just as it recorded record growth.
GOOGL stock price chart
Whatever the effects of the restructuring and layoffs may be, Google stock has, so far, performed strongly in 2024. Indeed, since the year started, Alphabet shares are 12.41% in the green.
Additionally, GOOGL has apparently avoided much of the damage taken by the stock market in early April as, while it is 0.83% in the red in the weekly chart, it has held its ground in the last 30 days and is 5.66% up in the time frame.
Google’s price today stands at $157.50 after a 0.40% extended trading rise which itself followed a 0.56% climb on the latest full trading day, Wednesday, April 17.
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