Google’s Parent Company’s ‘X Lab’ to Experience Job Losses as Chief Addresses Staff

The year 2024 has begun with numerous job cuts affecting the tech industry, as several tech giants such as Google, Amazon, YouTube and others have announced significant layoffs. It has now become clear that this trend is likely to continue as Google continues to lay off workers. However, this round of layoffs particularly affects Google’s parent company, Alphabet’s lab, known as the “X – Moonshot factory.” This has been branded as an attempt to secure external funding for the company’s various projects.

As Bloomberg reports, “Alphabet Inc.’s pioneering technology lab is laying off dozens of employees” as it seeks to attract outside investors. That division, X (not to be confused with X, formerly known as Twitter), has reportedly ramped up its discussions about getting funding from venture capitalists and other investors, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Bloomberg.

This is reportedly due to the internal structural changes currently underway in the laboratory. Its goal is to spin off projects as standalone startups, and it’s looking to make that move with the help of parent Alphabet and outside investors, according to an internal Bloomberg email.

Here’s what the head of the lab told the workers

“We’re expanding our approach to focus on developing multiple projects as standalone businesses funded with market-based capital,” lab director Astro Teller mentioned in an email. “We do this by opening up our opportunities to collaborate with wider industry and financial partners and by continuing to emphasize lean Teams and capital efficiency.”

He added in an email to staff: “This approach gives us more opportunity to focus on what Xers do best: inventing breakthrough technologies to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

What does X Lab do?

The lab is the brainchild of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and its goal is to address major issues affecting the world, such as climate change and Internet connectivity. However, it has reportedly had difficulties in facilitating the transfer of large projects out of the laboratory. “X is a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and bring to market technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions of people,” the laboratory states when describing itself.

This comes after Google laid off hundreds of employees from several teams, including its Voice Assistant unit and hundreds from the hardware team responsible for the Pixel, Nest and Fitbit. It also let go of employees from the augmented reality team and the core design team.