Waymo, the self-driving technology Google affiliate, laid off more employees in its second round of job cuts this year, totaling 8 percent or 209 of its workforce, the firm told Reuters on Wednesday.
Investors and industry watchers have been concerned about billions of dollars that have been poured into the self-driving technology sector in a short span of time to commercialize it.
Rivian Automotive Inc., General Motors and Meta Platforms Inc. among other U.S. companies have taken to layoffs in a bid to cut costs amid a looming recession.
Activist investor TCI Fund Management said in November that Waymo is the biggest component of the Google-parent’s Other Bets segment and it has not justified excessive investment.
TCI had also said that losses at the unit should be stemmed.
Google parent Alphabet said in January it would slash 12,000 jobs, which will affect a large number of employees who support experimental projects.
The parent company’s health science unit, Verily Life Sciences, said in January that it had laid off over 200 employees, or about 15 percent of its workforce.