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According to reports on social media, Google has let go a group of its U.S.-based Python programmers
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One former software engineer noted his LinkedIn post, "After counting, we found half of our team got eliminated in this round of reorg..."
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Posts on YCombinator and Mastodon claimed that software engineers in Munich, Germany, will replace the U.S. programmers
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The news comes after Google parent Alphabet reported a 15% spike in revenue and profit of $23.7 billion in Q1 2024
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Fierce reached out to Google for comment but had not received a reply as of press time
Is Google letting Python slither away into history? The hyperscaler reportedly gave most of its U.S. team of Python programmers the chop last week, according to posts from several former employees on LinkedIn, Mastodon and YCombinator.
Fierce has reached out to Google for comment and confirmation of the number of layoffs.
Thomas Wouters is the release manager for Python 3.12 and 3.13 (the most recent versions of which were put out earlier this month). In a post on Mastodon, he stated "It's a tough day when everyone you work with directly, including your manager, is laid off...and you're asked to onboard their replacements."
Fierce identified at least three Google Python team members who were laid off via posts each made on social media, including Matt Hu, Gregory P. Smith and Yilei Yang (we've linked their LinkedIn pages for anyone hiring).
On LinkedIn, Hu shared that "After counting, we found half of our team got eliminated in this round of reorg."
What does it mean?
Python is a widely used programming language that dates back to the early 1990s. Its most recent iteration was released earlier this month and according to TIOBE's index, Python was the most commonly used programming language as of April 2024.
Leonard Lee, founder of analyst firm neXt Curve, told Fierce the cuts may be just that: cuts.
"My impression is that this is simply cost cutting and org rationalization. I don’t think it represents a technical shift away from Python on the part of Google/Alphabet," he told Fierce. That makes sense given Wouters indicated Google is transitioning Python duties to a new team located in Germany.
The layoff came the same week Google parent company Alphabet reported Q1 2024 earnings. The company's revenue soared 15% year on year to $80.5 billion while profit jumped from $15.1 billion to $23.7 billion in the most recent quarter.
This is a developing story. We will update as more information becomes available.