Why Google is Slashing Its Sales Team

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

Google used to be synonymous with innovation and the bleeding edge of software development. Last week they laid off about 1,000 employees and emailed with a heartless tone “We regret to inform you that your position is being eliminated”

“Getting that message would feel like YOU are being eliminated.

You know what? These layoffs. There is a significant reason for them that people aren’t talking about. It’s the tech disease and I’d love to tell you the problem, and how to fix it. So, that’s what I’m going to do.”

The False Excuses for the Layoffs

Google’s spokesperson made these layoffs sound like something that was completely normal for the tech giant.

“Every year we go through a rigorous process to structure our team to provide the best service to our Ads customers, we map customers to the right specialist teams and sales channels to meet their service needs. As part of this, a few hundred roles globally are being eliminated and impacted employees will be able to apply for open roles or elsewhere at Google.” Source

Yet we can be assured that this isn’t the real reason for these job cuts. Plenty of commentators have blamed the following, but The Secret Developer believes they are wrong.

“Companies, bloggers, and commentators look for simple solutions to complex problems. Here are poor excuses for Google’s recent behavior.”

The Economic Climate

The current climate. We all know that the tech industry is not immune to the current global financial pressures. In reacting to economic headwinds Google is no different and has been unable to protect its sales teams from the economic reality.

“Sure, sure. How do you make money if you lay off your sales teams? They’re the ones bringing in the money. Think about the reality of the situation too, in 18 months things will be considerably better (and tech companies will need to rehire at pace)”

Shifting Business Priorities

The world is changing, and Google needs to change too. This strategic shift could mean reallocating resources from traditional sales to emerging tech sectors like AI, cloud computing, and machine learning.

“Sales. You still need to sell your product, no matter who you are. Simple, right?”

Market Saturation

Google’s ad business, a primary revenue generator, is maturing. With the market reaching saturation, there’s less need for an extensive sales team to drive growth. This might be the reason Google needs to reduce its sales team size.

“As Google move into more fields they’re going to need more resources. If Google can’t think how to expand their business I’m not sure any company can.”

The Real Reason

Short-term thinking

“It seems unbelievable for one of the tech titans to be looking for immediate cost savings. But here we are. It’s worse than that though, this is a long-term disaster at the expense of the long term.”

Likely negative consequences from Google’s short-term layoff plan

Morale

Demoralizing remaining staff, potentially affecting productivity and loyalty.

Market Perception

Risking negative market perception which can affect customer and investor confidence.

Disruption of Sales Strategies

This move can interrupt in-flight sales strategies that might have long-term payoffs.

Talent Loss

Losing talented staff who could be crucial for future projects especially as the economy improves in the next 12–15 years. Rehiring frequently costs more than retaining talent.

Negative consequences on software developers

“Software developers should be unhappy with these moves. Within Google, this may signal a strategic shift that affects the direction of ongoing projects.

It’s worse than that though. Software developers are seeing the uncertainty and fluctuating demands of tech firms that just didn’t exist before. We need companies that think of the future and have long-term plans. This represents a tech cultural change to more short-term practices and policies within the industry. That is, no one is going to support your work to tackle tech debt pretty soon.”

Conclusion

Short-term thinking is bad. Long-term thinking is better
“As long as the long-term thinking is right. Which it seldom is in the tech world.”