Google is cutting a bunch of jobs at Waze as it continues its efforts to merge with Maps

In a new report from CNBC, which was also confirmed by Google, Waze is laying off a number of employees as the company closes its advertising branch. In its place, Waze will start using the same ads system as Google Maps – just another instance of the tech giant attempting to merge the 140 million Waze users into Google’s ecosystem.

Slow and methodical, Google has always followed this pattern – acquire a large company like Fitbit or Waze, let it live for years unchanged or virtually untouched, and then eventually merge the large user base into its own at first by way of the product’s core infrastructure. Waze itself was acquired by Google in 2013 for 1.3 billion and has over 500 employees, but the number of laid-off individuals in the ad division was not disclosed.

“We have decided to transition Waze’s ads monetization to be managed by the Global Business Organization (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” (source this to CNBC).

CNBC

The play here is apparently that Google wants to “create a more scalable and optimized Waze Ads product” as stated by Chris Phillips, the one responsible for Geo, a Google Maps division. He also said that they would “wind down the current Waze Ads product while we focus on building new Waze Ads powered by Google Ads.” Phillips states that “Decisions like these are incredibly difficult” and thanked the laid-off employees for their work – something that I’m sure goes a long way to paying their bills.

Google has a really bad habit of doing exactly this with thousands of employees, and while I understand it’s necessary on some levels to cut the fat and maintain a lean company structure (especially on an already overly bloated hot mess), I’ve got to admit it seems like it could be a bit more strategic and respectful of the hardworking individuals that are on the receiving end of the news. This past year, Google cut 12,000 employees and even wound down its in-house incubator, Area 120.

While it says it does its best to place displaced workers in other areas of the company, that really doesn’t feel like a complete solution. I’m showing my bias against Google’s methods here, but to be fair and balanced, I suppose if one system is better than another, use it, right? Time will tell what the larger strategy is, but I have a feeling I’m right. Waze users were fairly opposed to its acquisition, and use Waze for the very fact that it’s not Google Maps, so it’s no secret that Google is trying its best to be sensitive with the long play.