Google Pixel Hardware: Chromebook Layoffs Coming?

Google has told dozens of Pixel laptop and tablet employees to seek jobs elsewhere within the technology giant, a potential indication that Google Chromebook and other hardware projects may experience layoffs or staffing adjustments, BusinessInsider reports.

Google and parent Alphabet have not commented about the report, but the chatter apparently involves dozens of employees.

Annual Chromebook sales continue to grow, but Google's itself is only a niche player in the market it helped to create. Chromebook sales are expected to top 17 million units by 2023, up from 5.3 million units in 2014, according to Global Market Insights. The low-cost, Internet-driven devices are particularly popular within K-12 schools.

However, Google’s own Chromebooks -- marketed under the Pixel brand -- have struggled to find wide adoption among consumers, Silicon Valley Business Journal asserts. Among the reasons: Pixel laptops cost more than $1,300, while no-frills Chromebooks can cost as little as $200, the report notes.

Google Pixel Chromebooks: What's Next?

Still, the news may not be all bad for Pixel hardware team members. Google apparently wants to move some of those employees to temporary projects, which means those folks may ultimately shift back to new projects at the company, BusinessInsider speculates.

More chatter may emerge at two major upcoming conferences -- Google Cloud Next 2019 in April, and Google I/O 2019 in May.