Google to lay off staff in Waze unit, CNBC reports

Google is laying off workers at its Waze business as it merges the unit with its own map products, CNBC’s Jennifer Elias reports. In an email to staff, Chris Phillips, who oversees Google’s maps division called Geo, said the company is revamping its Waze strategy to include Google ads as opposed to using a separate system, the author says, noting that the move will result in job cuts. “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.”