Google Cloud cuts its own cyber threat hunters as Mandiant layoffs hit security division

According to Business Insider’s initial report, Google laid off employees in its Cloud division in the last two weeks; These cuts impact some of the company’s most prominent security teams as the company continues to restructure its workforce amid a broader industry push for AI investment.

Google’s Threat Intelligence Group Among Units Affected by Cloud Layoffs

The outages reached Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, one of the company’s leading security divisions and a team widely known for its published research on state-sponsored hackers and cyber threats, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Business Content. Following the cuts, employees in the unit began posting about the layoffs on LinkedIn.

Sources told Business Insider that the outages were not limited to a single team. Employees of Mandiant, the cybersecurity firm that Google acquired in 2022, and other employees in the Google Cloud organization were also affected by this situation.

The exact number of those affected has not been confirmed. In at least one instance, Google cited the need to direct investments to high-growth areas as justification for the decision, one of the sources said.

“We regularly evaluate our internal structures to ensure we are best positioned to meet the evolving demands of our customers and the industry,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider.

Layoffs Accelerate in Big Tech as Companies Prioritize Investment in AI

The Google Cloud reductions are the latest in a series of workforce contractions in the tech sector, as companies justify the cuts by pointing to the demands of the AI ​​era.

Meta laid off nearly 10 percent of its global workforce last month. Coinbase and Block also used AI investment priorities to explain significant headcount reductions earlier this year. Cybersecurity firms haven’t been spared either: Cloudflare cut more than 1,100 positions last month as it prepares for what it calls the “age of agentic AI.”

Google quietly reduced staff in its Cloud division last year, with previous cuts primarily concentrated in user experience roles, Business Insider previously reported.

Unemployment Claims in the US Reached the Highest Level Since February

In this environment of corporate restructuring, the broader U.S. labor market showed new signs of tension. Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 13,000 to 225,000 in the week ending May 30, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. This figure represents the highest level of weekly applications since February.

Economists surveyed Bloomberg had predicted an average of 215,000 claim readings. The four-week moving average of initial claims, a measure designed to smooth out week-to-week volatility, rose to 214,750, the highest level since February. The Memorial Day holiday period likely contributed to some of the movements in the numbers, analysts said.

UK Redundancy Notices Rise to Five-Year High Amid Conflict in Middle East

Labor market conditions are deteriorating further in the UK, where the number of workers facing potential redundancy has risen to the highest point in more than five years. According to data from the Insolvency Service, more than 37,000 notices of potential redundancy were made in the four weeks to May 24; This was a 62 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

This is the highest figure recorded in a four-week period since the autumn of 2020, when the British economy was heading deeper into the pandemic. Economists attributed this deterioration in part to the economic effects of the conflict in Iran; This has led to an energy price shock that is expected to have a severe impact on the UK compared to other developed economies.

The data only includes firms planning 20 or more layoffs; This means the overall picture may be broader than the numbers suggest.

“This certainly supports the idea that the labor market has weakened and has even begun to weaken more rapidly since the start of the war in Iran,” said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics. “He really supports the idea of ​​a runoff [inflation] effects are less likely.”

Bank of England Closely Monitors Employment Data Amid Wage and Inflation Pressures

UK tax data for April showed a fall of around 100,000 in the number of workers on payroll; This is the steepest single-month decline since the beginning of the pandemic. But the Office for National Statistics warned the figure was likely to be subject to larger revisions than usual.

The Bank of England is watching the labor market closely as it weighs whether workers have enough bargaining power to demand wage increases in response to higher inflation, a dynamic that could complicate interest rate decisions in the coming months.