Robots aren’t immune to corporate layoffs, as Alphabet has stopped using some of its cleaning robots.
According to a report by Wired, to reduce its costs, Google stopped using the expensive robots it bought to clean the garbage and cafeteria tables. These robots were produced in Google’s Everyday Robots unit.
Dennis Gamboa, Head of Marketing and Communications at Everyday Robots, said in a recent interview:
Everyday Robots will no longer be a separate project within Alphabet. Some of the technologies and members of this team will be integrated with Google’s research unit.
– Dennis Gamboa
Everyday Robots has more than 200 employees. However, the division has yet to provide a clear vision for its continuation as its managers have failed to decide whether to focus on advanced research or launch a new product.
According to Wired, the robots produced by the Everyday Robots unit were too expensive for ordinary customers, and each model is worth tens of thousands of dollars.
In a blog post published in 2021, Hans-Peter Brondmo, Chief Robots Manager and General Manager of the Everyday Robots project, announced that his team had trained more than 100 robots to automate tasks in the Google Office environment.
According to Brondmo, the robot that sorts the trash can also clean tables and use a door-opening clip to move cups.
Everyday Robots was the brainchild of Alphabet’s Moonshot research and development unit, A sector that recently had to stop some economically unviable projects.
Google’s X unit also closed the Loon division in 2021, where he was in charge of making balloons to provide internet.
A year ago, Alphabet stopped Makani’s activities as well. This unit made equipment that produced electricity through small wind turbines.
Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, is slowly entering larger markets. The cars made in this department are now working in test mode in three cities, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.
Google’s Robotaxi division also needs help from government regulatory agencies; Because it is necessary to get a license to drive on the roads; and the other hand, the recent accidents of automatic driving mechanisms have made the conditions of this unit a little more complicated.
The shutdown of Google’s cleaning robots comes as the company tries to continue its activities amid a record economy by making the right decisions.
Last month, Alphabet said it would lay off about 12,000 employees. Of course, this incident was not limited to the internet search giant as Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter, Meta, Snap, etc., have also laid off thousands of their employees.
According to a memo obtained by CNBC, several Google employees in the company’s cloud services division were told earlier this week that they must share their desks with co-workers.
According to regulatory filings, Alphabet’s workforce went from 119,000 in 2019 to 187,000 during the coronavirus pandemic. At the beginning of this month, the shares of this company fell by more than seven percent. On the other hand, Google’s market value decreased by about 100 billion dollars after the release of the Bard chatbot.