Google has reportedly slashed up to 45 staff from its news division.
The tech giant made the layoffs according to an Alphabet Workers Union spokesperson, who said they didn’t know the exact number of people sacked.
A staff engineer at Google News said in a LinkedIn about the firings: “These are some of the best and brightest people I’ve ever worked with. We’re definitely worse off without them.”
Google’s downsizing has been brought in at a particularly sensitive time for online platforms and publishers.
It comes as the war between Israel and Hamas that has claimed thousands of lives in Israel and Gaza since 7 October rages, and 20 months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Both conflicts have spawned a surge in the spread of misinformation across the web, heightening the importance of Google and other sites that users count on to find up-to-date news.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the cuts to CNBC, but didn’t provide a number.
They also insisted there are still hundreds of people working on the news product.
The spokesperson added: “We’re deeply committed to a vibrant information ecosystem, and news is a part of that long-term investment.
“We’ve made some internal changes to streamline our organization. A small number of employees were impacted. We’re supporting everyone with a transition period, outplacement services and severance as they look for new opportunities at Google and beyond.”
Google News presents links to articles from thousands of publishers and magazines and is a hugely popular tab for people who use Google search, allowing them to find top-ranked stories on a particular topic.
US Senator Michael Bennet has asked for information on how Google, X, Meta; and TikTok were trying to stop the spread of false and misleading content about the Israel-Hamas conflict on their platforms.
European Union industry chief Thierry Breton has also demanded firms including Google take stricter steps to battle disinformation as the conflict escalates.
But Google’s spokesperson added: “These internal changes have no impact on our misinformation and information quality work in news.”
The cuts at Google News follow widespread layoffs across many parts of the company this year.
In January, the company announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs – hitting around 6 per cent of its full-time staff, while last month the company eliminated hundreds of positions from its recruiting organisation.
