About a decade ago, Google restructured so that it would be part of a new organization called Alphabet. Under Alphabet is Google and a plethora of other companies, one of which is Verily, a biotech company. Other businesses under the Alphabet umbrella are Waymo and Google Fiber.
Now, The Guardian is reporting that the company is laying off its last 30 employees in Israel, they are set to depart by the third quarter. The company said that it's part of a refocus of strategy on core products and projects.
Commenting on the matter, a spokesperson for Verily said:
"As part of our ongoing review of business needs, Verily has made the difficult decision to begin the process to close its R&D centre in Israel located in both Haifa and Tel Aviv. This decision is in keeping with our strategy as we continue to streamline our overall company operations. The Israel-Gaza war played no part in our decision."
The real reason that Verily is cutting back is because it's working towards an initial public offering (IPO) and going its own separate way from Alphabet. Another thing to keep in mind is that the centre in Israel was founded in 2021 when inflation and high interest rates were not an issue.
Explaining what the team in Israel has been doing since it was established, the spokesperson at Verily said:
"The Verily Israel team has driven important innovations and advancements in the past several years, specifically focused on applying artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to biomedical problems. We plan for this critical work to continue in our US-based sites."
According to The Guardian, Verily has been cost-cutting for over a year after falling short of revenue projections in 2023. Its parent company, Alphabet, has also been cutting employees - it cut around 12,000 last year and 1,000 more this January.
Source: The Guardian - Image via Depositphotos.com
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