Google ad sales unit shake-up: 30,000 employees may face layoffs amid AI surge: Mint

AI advancements within Google may lead to potential layoffs in the sales unit of the company.

According to Mint, a report by The Information mentions that Google will restructure a significant portion of its 30,000 employees ad sales unit due to recent strides in artificial intelligence. The news was internally announced in a recent meeting by Sean Downey, president of the Americas and global partners, Google.

However, according to The Information, there was no indication from the executive about whether this reorganisation would result in further job cuts. Earlier this year, Google executed its largest job cut ever, letting go of approximately 12,000 employees.

Many roles within the ad sales unit are becoming obsolete due to Google's implementation of new AI-driven tools capable of suggesting and generating effective ads with minimal employee intervention.

Google initially introduced its AI-powered campaign planner, Performance Max in 2021. However, the company expanded the tool's capabilities with generative AI during the Google I/O event in 2023, simplifying the creation of custom assets and enabling easy scalability with just a few clicks.

The report highlights that an increasing number of advertisers have started using Performance Max. This adoption has led to a reduced necessity for specialised employees who focus on selling ads for specific Google services like YouTube, Search, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps.

Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google, termed the decision as "difficult but necessary."

"It would have been a major overhang on the company. I think it would have made it very difficult in a year like this with such a big shift in the world to create the capacity to invest in areas," he added.