Google Has Slashed More Manager Roles in Its Efficiency Drive

Google told staff that it has cut managers who oversee small teams by 35% over the past year, according to a person who heard the remarks.

In an all-hands meeting held last week, Brian Welle, vice president of people analytics and performance, said the changes were part of an effort to reduce managerial and director roles overall at Google, the person said.

Welle’s comments referred to managers of teams with three employees or fewer, according to a person familiar with the matter. CNBC reported earlier on the remarks.

Google leaders have been hacking away at management layers for well over a year. In December, Google told staff that it had cut manager, director, and VP roles by 10%, Business Insider previously reported.

Google isn’t the only Big Tech company that has been flattening its structure for efficiency. Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, and Meta have also made similar moves, eliminating middle manager jobs to speed up internal decisions and move faster.

Some teams across Google have in the last year removed a specific engineering role that was a combination of tech lead and manager, which would have likely contributed to the 35% figure, according to an employee with direct knowledge of the changes. Many of those employees have moved into other roles at Google, the person said.

Google leaders aren’t just cutting back on management roles as a way to make the company more efficient. Googlers are increasingly being pushed to use AI as part of their day-to-day jobs, in the hope it will make them more productive. CEO Sundar Pichai said earlier this year that Google estimated a 10% boost in productivity gains from engineers using AI.

A spokesperson for Google declined to comment.

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