Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet Inc. division specializing in health sciences, stated that it has laid off over 200 workers, or 15% of its workforce. This is the first time in at least six years that Alphabet or one of its affiliates has announced employment cutbacks.
In September of last year, Verily emerged from the Google X research program in 2015 after receiving a $1 billion investment from Alphabet. At the time, Stephen Gillet was announced as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and co-founder Andy Conrad became the executive chairman.
In his emails, Stephen wrote to the employees that the company is striving for financial independence from the parent company Alphabet. According to the emails, the cuts were due to “redundancy” on the team and canceled programs.
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The layoff comes after comparable layoffs in the corporate sector, primarily in banks and technology industries, as businesses try to cut costs in a challenging economic climate. Many companies like Meta, Salesforce, Tesla, and others have hinted at more layoffs in 2023.
Foreseeing tougher economic situations, Verily said in a blog post, “We will advance fewer initiatives with greater resources.” Verily also stopped developments on its analytics tool Value Suite and some other products, adding that it will also remove employees from those segments.
