Report claims hardware engineers told to seek new roles

Mar 13, 2019 09:49 GMT  ·  By

Google is reportedly making a series of changes in its hardware division that puts the future of a number of devices in doubt, according to a report today.

BI writes that Google has started an ample restructuring process in the Create division, which is responsible for creating laptops and tablets like the Pixelbook and the Pixel Slate.

By the looks of things, Google could also ditch plans for certain projects, according to the aforementioned source citing people familiar with the matter, as the company requested employees in the hardware group to temporarily seek new roles in other divisions or Alphabet companies.

Interestingly, Google doesn’t seem to consider this to be a permanent change, which appears to suggest that at some point in the future the search giant could bring back the workforce to the Create unit. Hardware engineers, technical program managers, and other employees close to these areas are reportedly being told to seek other positions within the company, including in the smartphone division.

Pixel and Chromebooks not impacted

Right now, the Google Pixel phone project doesn’t seem to be impacted by these changes, but the people with knowledge of the restructuring told the cited source that several projects have been canceled in the laptop and tablet division.

Manufacturing plans haven’t been adjusted, however, which means that the products that Google plans to release in the short term wouldn’t be affected by Google’s restructuring.

While Google hasn’t commented on the report, it looks like the Mountain View-based company is just making hardware a second-class citizen of its ecosystem, trying instead to focus on projects that align with its push for continued growth.

Google’s Chromebook push is unlikely to suffer any change, as most of the devices aren’t manufactured by the search giant. Instead, Google will likely invest more in Chrome OS software, while the company would continue to work with device manufacturers to build laptops running it.