According to media reports, Google has recently laid off several employees, including its Python team, as part of a cost-cutting measure to hire less expensive labor outside the United States. The company is said to be planning to establish a new team in Munich, Germany, which would serve as “cheaper” labor.
The US Python team, which reportedly had fewer than ten members, was responsible for managing most aspects of Google’s Python ecosystem
A Social.coop post on Mastodon reportedly received comments from a former member of the Google Python team who expressed deep disappointment with the layoffs. The employee stated that their two-decade career at Google was the best job ever and criticized the company for initiating the layoffs. Another employee mentioned the pain of witnessing the entire team, including the manager, being laid off and replaced with remote workers from overseas.
The US Python team, which reportedly had fewer than ten members, was responsible for managing most aspects of Google’s Python ecosystem, ensuring the stability of Python at Google, updating it with thousands of third-party packages, and developing a type-checker. This development follows reports of Google cutting staff from its real estate and finance departments as well. Google’s finance chief, Ruth Porat, also informed employees in an email that the company is continuing with its broader restructuring efforts, with a focus on Bangalore, Mexico City, and Dublin. In January, Google also laid off hundreds of workers across various teams, including its engineering, hardware, and assistant teams.