Google Layoffs: 100 jobs at YouTube being axed, part of restructuring

YouTube, the Google-owned video-sharing platform, is eliminating 100 positions as it restructures its business.

The reduction comes roughly a week after Google cut hundreds of jobs across its Voice Assistant, hardware, and engineering teams.

What’s happening at YouTube?

In a memo to staff on Jan. 17, Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer, said the layoffs are part of restructuring changes to its creator management and operations teams.

“As we have seen the past few years, our creator base is broadening and diversifying, from our most experienced creators to a new generation of casual creators posting on YouTube for the first time,” Coe said in the memo obtained by Tubefilter.

“As the business evolves, we have an even greater need to ensure we’re running the business effectively and meeting the needs of all of our users.”

According to The New York Times, affected staff members will have 60 days to find new roles at the company and Google before their dismissals take effect.

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• Google laying off hundreds of employees in global recruiting division

YouTube layoffs in Canada

It remains unclear if any Canadian employees will be affected by the reduction at YouTube.

According to the company’s LinkedIn page, it has more than 2,400 workers in the country.

Termination agreements for YouTube employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at YouTube and Google are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

If you don’t receive the correct amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and should take legal action.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue proper severance pay.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Rights to severance for tech sector staff
• Severance packages during mass layoffs

Major tech layoffs continue

YouTube and Google aren’t the only tech companies scaling back their staffing levels in 2024.

Other notable employers, including Instagram, BenchSci, Discord, Amazon, Twitch, Unity, and Xerox, have also pulled out the axe as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

SEE ALSO
• Firm launches $130M class action against Shopify for breach of contract
• Citigroup to slash 20,000 jobs over the ‘medium-term’
• Where are layoffs happening in Canada?

Lost your job? Talk to an employment lawyer

If you have been fired or let go for any reason, contact the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

Our lawyers in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. have successfully represented tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals.

In addition to severance package negotiations, we can assist you on a broad range of employment matters, including:

If you are a non-unionized employee who needs help with a workplace issue, contact us or call 1-855-821-5900 to get the advice you need and the compensation you deserve.