Google Cloud Cuts Hit Cybersecurity Teams
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- Google Cloud has been conducting layoffs over the last two weeks, with employees across multiple teams affected, two people familiar with the matter told Business Insider.
- Google's Threat Intelligence Group — a top security unit that regularly publishes research on hackers — was hit by cuts, with affected employees posting about the layoffs on LinkedIn.
- Mandiant, the cybersecurity firm Google acquired in 2022, also saw cuts, along with other teams within Google Cloud, though the exact number of impacted employees remains unclear.
- Google told at least some affected staff the cuts were needed to reinvest in growth areas such as AI, with a spokesperson saying the company 'regularly evaluate[s] our internal structures' to meet evolving demands.
- Big Tech peers are making similar moves: Meta cut 10% of staff last month, Coinbase and Block used AI to justify earlier cuts this year, and Cloudflare laid off more than 1,100 employees as it pivots toward the 'agentic AI era.'
- Google Cloud had previously trimmed headcount in late 2025, quietly letting go of staff mostly in user experience roles, suggesting a pattern of low-profile reductions even before the current wave.
Why it matters: Google is cutting from its cybersecurity bench — including a premier threat intelligence team — while publicly redirecting resources toward AI, following the same playbook as Meta, Coinbase, Block, and Cloudflare. With the total headcount undisclosed and cybersecurity threats rising industry-wide, the move raises the question of whether Google is hollowing out security capacity at precisely the moment enterprises need it most.
