In recent news, Waymo, the self-driving car company, has announced a second round of job cuts. The company has laid off 8% of its employees, amounting to approximately 100 people. This follows an earlier round of job cuts in April 2020, when the company laid off 400 people.
The job cuts are part of a larger effort to reduce costs and streamline operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Waymo CEO John Krafcik said in a statement, “The pandemic has had a significant impact on our business, and we’ve had to make some difficult decisions to ensure our long-term success.”
The layoffs come as Waymo is facing increasing competition from other self-driving car companies, such as Tesla and Cruise. Waymo is also facing legal challenges from Uber, which is suing the company for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to self-driving technology.
Despite the layoffs, Waymo is still investing in its technology and expanding its services. The company recently announced that it will be launching a driverless taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2021. It is also working on developing autonomous delivery services and has partnered with Walmart to launch a grocery delivery service in Arizona.
While the job cuts are unfortunate, Waymo is taking steps to ensure its long-term success. The company is focusing on streamlining its operations and investing in new technologies to stay ahead of the competition. It remains to be seen how these efforts will pay off in the long run, but for now, Waymo is doing what it can to remain competitive in the self-driving car industry.
Source: Plato Data Intelligence: PlatoAiStream