Alphabet job cuts ‘small,’ but ‘important signal,’ says BofA

BofA analyst Justin Post notes that various press reports have suggested that Alphabet’s life sciences unit Verily will lay off 15% of its workforce and that Intrinsic, an industrial robotics venture, is laying off 40 employees. Layoffs of the 240 impacted employees in the Other Bets units would represent just 0.13% of Google’s 186,779 headcount as of Q3 so the headcount reduction is "insignificant for costs," but cutting 15% of Verily’s employee base "suggests real actions are being contemplated at loss producing businesses," Post tells investors. The analyst, who expects more headcount reductions in 2023, has a Buy rating and $114 price target on Alphabet shares.