Google Cloud Division Lays Off Staff in Threat Intelligence and Mandiant Units: Report

Google Cloud Layoffs Hit Security Teams Amid Industry Shift to AI

Google has carried out layoffs across its Cloud division over the past two weeks, with the reductions affecting some of the company's most prominent security teams. The cuts have particularly impacted the Threat Intelligence Group, a leading security division within Google that has published research on state-sponsored hackers and cyber threats. Employees within the unit have begun sharing information about the redundancies on LinkedIn.

The reductions were not limited to a single team, with workers at Mandiant, the cybersecurity firm Google acquired in 2022, also affected. Other employees within the wider Google Cloud organisation have also been impacted. While the exact number of employees affected has not been confirmed, one source stated that Google cited the need to redirect investment towards high-growth areas as justification for the decision.

The layoffs are part of a broader industry trend, with companies prioritising investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and restructuring their workforces accordingly. In recent weeks, Meta laid off approximately 10% of its global workforce, while Coinbase and Block have also used AI investment priorities to explain significant headcount reductions.

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US Unemployment Claims Rise to Highest Level Since February

Against the backdrop of corporate restructuring, the broader US labour market has shown fresh signs of strain. Initial applications for unemployment benefits climbed by 13,000 to 225,000 in the week ending 30 May, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday. This figure represents the highest level of weekly claims since February. Economists had forecast a median reading of 215,000 claims.

The four-week moving average of initial applications, a measure designed to smooth out week-to-week volatility, rose to 214,750, also the highest since February. Analysts noted that the Memorial Day holiday period likely contributed to some of the movement in the figures.

UK Job Cut Notices Surge to Five-Year High Amid Middle East Conflict

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Labour market conditions are deteriorating more sharply in the United Kingdom, where the number of workers facing potential redundancy has risen to its highest point in more than five years. More than 37,000 potential layoff notices were filed in the four weeks to 24 May, a 62% increase compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Insolvency Service. This figure is the highest recorded for a four-week period since the autumn of 2020, when the British economy was navigating the depths of the pandemic.

Economists have linked the deterioration in part to the economic fallout from conflict in Iran, which has driven an energy price shock expected to weigh heavily on the UK relative to other advanced economies. The data covers only firms planning to make 20 or more redundancies, meaning the overall picture may be broader than the figures suggest.

Bank of England Watches Jobs Data Closely Amid Wage and Inflation Pressures

The Bank of England is monitoring the jobs market closely as it weighs whether workers retain sufficient bargaining power to demand wage increases in response to higher inflation, a dynamic that could complicate interest rate decisions in the months ahead. British tax data for April pointed to a fall of roughly 100,000 in the number of payrolled employees, the steepest single-month decline since the onset of the pandemic. The Office for National Statistics cautioned, however, that the figure was likely to be subject to larger-than-normal revisions.