Alphabet's health science unit cuts over 200 jobs

Alphabet's health science unit, Verily Life Sciences, said on Wednesday (Jan 11) it had laid off over 200 employees, or about 15 per cent of its workforce, marking the first time in at least six years when Alphabet or its affiliate has announced job cuts.

The move follows similar retrenchment exercises in corporate America, concentrated among technology firms and banks, as companies look to curtail spending in a tough economy.

"We will advance fewer initiatives with greater resources," Verily said in a blog post.

It has stopped development on analytics tool Verily Value Suite and some early-stage products, the company said, adding that some employees will also be moved internally.

Verily, which was born out of the Google X research program in 2015, raised US$1 billion from Alphabet in September last year. At the time it had announced Stephen Gillett, a former president, taking over as chief executive officer and co-founder Andy Conrad becoming executive chairman of the company's board.

Access, an Alphabet unit that houses Google Fiber, laid off some employees in 2016.