CNBC reported on Tuesday that an email from Chris Phillips, who runs Google’s Geo maps division, said that Waze is moving to Google’s ad system. As a result, Waze will no longer need a separate ad system which will lead to layoffs at Waze. Google owns both Google Maps and Waze; the former not only gets you from “A” to “B” safely, it also tells you where you should stay at “B,” places to go while there, and also recommends places to eat.
Waze is more focused on the journey itself and uses crowdsourced information to help users avoid accidents, heavy traffic, police speed traps, and more. The email from Phillips said, “We have decided to transition Waze’s ads monetization to be managed by the Global Business Organization (GBO), similar to Google Maps. Unfortunately, this will result in a reduction of Waze Ads monetization-focused roles in sales, marketing, operations, and analytics.”
Google will layoff Waze employees related to the platform’s own ads product
Phillips added that Google will “wind down the current Waze Ads product while we focus on building new Waze Ads powered by Google Ads.” He stated that advertisers and partners will be notified today and that it will answer questions about the future of the navigation platform on July 11th which is when Waze will hold its next Town Hall.
Google purchased Waze for $1.3 billion in 2013 and documentation read by CNBC shows that it has 500 employees. The number of Waze employees that will be laid off is not known and Google has not revealed that number. The platform has 140 million active users. Discussing the layoffs in his email, Phillips wrote, “Decisions like these are incredibly difficult. Each one of these Wazers contributed to Waze’s success and culture, and I want to express my gratitude and respect for what they have achieved.”
Waze offers features not found on Google Maps such as celebrity guest voices who will read driving instructions to you. You can even add your own voice to listen to. If you don’t have Waze on your phone, you can install it by clicking on this link for Android, or this link for iOS.
Google says it has been focusing on becoming more efficient and parent company Alphabet said that it would cut its workforce by 6% or 12,000 employees. It also canceled and downsized some of its projects.
