Google restructures finance team as part of AI shift, CFO tells employees in memo

Alphabet
Chief
Financial
Officer
Ruth
Porat
said
in
a
memo
Wednesday
that


Google
is
restructuring
its
finance
organization,
a
move
that
will
include
layoffs
and
relocations,
as
the
company
pushes
resources
to
favor
investments
in
artificial
intelligence.

“The
tech
sector
is
in
the
midst
of
a
tremendous
platform
shift
with
Al,”
Porat
wrote
in
the
memo,
obtained
by
CNBC,
that
was
sent
to
employees
in
finance.
“As
a
company,
this
means
we
have
the
opportunity
to
make
more
helpful
products
for
billions
of
users
and
provide
faster
solutions
to
our
customers,
but
it
also
means
we
collectively
have
to
make
tough
decisions,
including
how
and
where
we
work
to
align
with
our
highest
priority
areas.”

The
latest
cuts
follow
a
broader
effort
by
Google
to
rearrange
its
workforce
and
resources
to
accommodate
further
investment
in
new
technologies
such
as
AI
as
advertising
growth
slows.
CEO
Sundar
Pichai

told
employees
in
January
that
more
job
cuts
were
likely
coming
in
2024,
though
he
did
not
specify
which
teams
would
be
affected.

The
restructuring
will
affect
finance
teams
domestically
and
abroad,
including
in
the
Asia-Pacific
region
and
Europe,
the
Middle
East
and
Africa,
Porat
noted. 

Porat
also
wrote
that
the
company
would
create
“hubs”
for
more
centralized
operations
including
in
Bangalore,
Mexico
City,
Dublin,
Chicago
and
Atlanta.
The
company
plans
to
maintain
a
significant
presence
in
the
San
Francisco
Bay
Area,
she
noted.

“Over
the
past
year,
we
have
talked
about
creating
hubs
of
Fin’ooglers
around
the
world
that
are
vibrant
and
have
a
strong
culture,”
Porat
wrote.
“This
strategy
will
help
us
be
a
more
efficient
organization
and
enables
us
to
run
24
hours
a
day
while
respecting
Fin’ooglers
worktimes.”

Fin’oogler
is
the
company’s
term
for
a
Google
employee
in
finance.

Porat
ended
her
note
saying,
“We
are
sad
to
say
goodbye
to
some
talented
teammates
and
friends
we
care
about,
and
we
know
this
change
is
difficult.”

“As
we’ve
said,
we’re
responsibly
investing
in
our
company’s
biggest
priorities
and
the
significant
opportunities
ahead,”
a
Google
spokesperson
told
CNBC
in
an
email.
“To
best
position
us
for
these
opportunities,
throughout
the
second
half
of
2023
and
into
2024,
a
number
of
our
teams
made
changes
to
become
more
efficient
and
work
better,
remove
layers
and
align
their
resources
to
their
biggest
product
priorities.”