Google cancels projects at R&D group Area 120, here’s the company’s statement – Times of India

Google is slashing projects at its in-house R&D division known as Area 120. The company confirmed the same to TechCrunch, which was the first to publish the report. Google has informed staff of a “reduction in force” that will see the incubator halved in size. There were 14 projects housed in Area 120, the number has now been cut down to seven. Employees whose projects have been cancelled were told that they need to find a new job within Google by the end of January 2023, or else they will be terminated.
“Area 120 is an in-house incubator for experimental new products. The group regularly starts and stops projects with an eye toward pursuing the most promising opportunities,” a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We have recently shared that Area 120 will be shifting its focus to projects that build on Google’s deep investment in AI and have the potential to solve important user problems. As a result, Area 120 is winding down several projects to make way for new work. Impacted team members will receive dedicated support as they explore new projects and opportunities at Google,” the spokesperson added. The Area 120 is Google’s in-house incubator which has produced many innovative projects. The products include Gmail, AdSense, Google News and Google Cardboard.
Google recently cancelled the next version of its Pixelbook laptop and dissolved the team responsible for building it. According to a report in The Verge, the device that was far along in development and expected to debut next year has been scrapped. The project was cut as part of recent cost-cutting measures inside Google.