Waymo, the robotaxi company whose presence has expanded across San Francisco in recent months, has slashed jobs for the third time this year.
A Waymo spokesperson told The Standard that the layoffs are part of an internal reorganization process.
“A small number of Waymo teams recently made adjustments to their teams as part of normal course of business,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement Monday evening.
The spokesperson declined to provide details about the number of affected employees but said the number is small.
Google’s parent company Alphabet, which owns the autonomous vehicle operator, laid off dozens of Waymo employees at the start of 2023 as part of wide-scale layoffs across the tech conglomerate. In March, the company sacked another batch of employees.
Waymo employed around 2,500 employees at the start of the year, according to reports. More than 200 were axed in the two layoff rounds earlier this year, but the number of remaining Waymo staffers following this cut is unclear.
In August, Waymo’s operations—along with those of General Motors-owned Cruise—were granted permission by state regulators to expand in San Francisco.
Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division—which includes Waymo—generated $285 million in revenue last quarter, according to filings. However, it lost $813 million. Alphabet’s next earnings call is scheduled for Oct. 24.