Technology giant Google is reportedly laying off employees at Waze, its mapping service.
In an email to employees on Tuesday, Chris Phillips, who oversees Google’s maps division called Geo, said the company is shifting its Waze to include Google ads rather than using a separate ad system, CNBC reported.
Google acquired Waze for about $1.3 billion in 2013. The mapping unit has more than 500 employees. However, the mail does not disclose how many jobs would be eliminated, according to the publication.
“We have decided to transition Waze’s ads monetisation to be managed by the Global Business Organisation (GBO), similar to Google Maps,” Phillips wrote. “Unfortunately, this will result in a reduction of Waze Ads monetization-focused roles in sales, marketing, operations, and analytics.”
The company hopes to “create a more scalable and optimised Waze Ads product,” the email said.
According to Phillips, the company will focus on “building new Waze Ads powered by Google Ads”.
Google plans to notify its advertisers and partners of the change on Wednesday. On July 11, when the company will hold its next town hall, it will share plans for the next steps.
Earlier in January this year, Google parent Alphabet also announced that it is planning to cut roughly 12,000 jobs, or 6 % of the workforce worldwide.
