Alphabet’s Waymo has issued its second round of layoffs this year, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Combined with the initial cuts in January, the self-driving technology company has let go of 8%, or 200 employees, of its workforce.
The layoffs mostly engineering roles are part of a broader organizational restructure that follows a “fiscally disciplined approach,” according to a Waymo spokesperson. In other words, the company is cutting costs where it can as it continues to develop and deploy its technology. Waymo is on the path to commercialization of self-driving vehicle technology, but the road ahead is long, and the company isn’t yet bringing in much revenue to fund its operations.
Waymo’s layoffs follow a surge of cuts at Alphabet and Google in January. Alphabet is among many U.S. companies to reduce staff ahead of an impending recession. Some analysts and investors say Waymo’s layoffs aren’t merely a product of a down market. The company has received serious investment from its parent company, and activist investor TCI Fund Management said in November that Waymo hasn’t yet justified that spending.
