Google has made significant job cuts in engineering and other divisions.

The company, working to cut costs, has laid off employees in core engineering, Google Assistant, and hardware divisions working on products like the Pixel phone.

In an effort to reduce expenses, Google let go of hundreds of employees across various divisions on Wednesday night. This move aligns with the trend of other tech companies cutting technical jobs this year, focusing on artificial intelligence.

The Silicon Valley company has terminated employees not only in its main engineering division but also in the hardware division responsible for Google Assistant, a voice-activated virtual assistant, and products like the Pixel phone, Fitbit watches, and Nest thermostats. The layoffs were confirmed.

Several hundred employees from the company’s main engineering organization received pink slips, with some noting that their roles were being eliminated, two people said. Google stated that most hardware cuts have affected an augmented reality team, which merges the digital and physical worlds.

According to a review of the text conducted by The New York Times, the company told some employees in the division, “We have had to make some difficult decisions about ongoing employment for some Google employees, and we are sorry to tell you that your position is being terminated.”

Google confirmed the Assistant layoffs, which were first reported by Semafor, and acknowledged the hardware cuts reported earlier by the blog 9to5Google.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement, “We are investing responsibly in our company’s top priorities and upcoming significant opportunities. Following last year’s second-quarter cuts, some teams are continuing to make organizational changes, which include ending some roles on a global scale.”

Last year, following the lead of major companies like Meta and Amazon that laid off thousands of employees, the trend of technical layoffs continues. More companies have announced job cuts in the past ten days. Earlier this week, Amazon removed hundreds of employees from its Twitch streaming service, Prime Video, and MGM Studios. Xerox said this month it would cut 15% of its workforce, or 23,000 positions, and video game software provider Unity Software said it would eliminate 1,800 roles, or 25% of its workforce.

At Google, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai has been under pressure since July 2022 to focus the company and cut costs amid a challenging global economic situation. In January 2023, Google laid off 6% of its workforce, or 12,000 people, in its largest-ever restructuring. Since then, company officials have said they will make a significant effort to reduce costs as it focuses on the growing field of artificial intelligence.

Google, which had 182,000 employees as of September 30, said the layoffs on Wednesday were part of a reorganization set in motion as part of normal business proceedings.

The original company, represented by the Alphabet Workers Union, a group that represents over 1,400 employees at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, called the layoffs “unnecessary.”

The group labeled the layoffs as “unnecessary” and criticized Google on the social media site.