Google’s R&D division ‘Area 120’ hit significantly in layoffs

San Francisco : As Google’s parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees, its in-house research and development (R&D) division called Area 120 has also been significantly hit.

Area 120 has launched several products, like gaming platform GameSnacks, an AirTable rival called Tables, an AI-powered conversational ads platform AdLingo, video platforms Tangi and Shoploop, and more.

Majority of the Area 120 team has been “winded down”, reports TechCrunch. “Employees in the US who were affected have been notified [of layoffs at Area 120, but in other countries this process will take longer, and is subject to local laws and practices,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

“Our managing partner of Area 120 remains at the company,a the spokesperson added. According to earlier reports, the in-house R&D division had around 100 employees.

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday said that he is “deeply sorry” for reducing the workforce by approximately 12,000 roles, and takes “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here”.

In an email to employees, Pichai said the company has already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected by the layoffs. “In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices,” he added.

The roles the company is eliminating cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels, and regions.