Google has cut 35% of managers overseeing small teams: Executive

Google has cut over a third of its managers leading small teams, according to a report by CNBC. The move was shared with employees last week during an all-hands meeting by Brian Welle, the company’s vice president of People Analytics and Performance, the report said.

Welle explained that Google now has 35% fewer managers, as part of its goal of reducing unnecessary layers of management and improving efficiency.

“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.

The reduction mainly affects managers who were overseeing fewer than three employees, the report added.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai also spoke during the meeting, emphasising the need for a more streamlined leadership model. “We have to be more efficient as we scale up so we don’t solve everything with headcount,” he said, highlighting the company’s shift towards a smaller management team.

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Executives also responded to staff concerns about job security and overall morale, especially given the recent job cuts and voluntary exit programmes (VEPs). Regarding the buyouts, executives revealed that 10 product areas have offered voluntary buyouts to certain teams in the US, including search, marketing, hardware, and people operations.

Fiona Cicconi, Google’s chief people officer, said that between 3% and 5% of employees in these teams have accepted the buyout offers. She explained that many chose to leave to take a break from work or to care for family members.