Fuchsia and Area 120 hit by layoffs at Google

Among the many divisions hit by Google’s massive layoffs, the Fuchsia operating system and Area 120 incubator teams were heavily affected.

In January, Google initiated massive layoffs that will result in the layoffs of 12,000 of the company’s employees. According to the New York Times, a significant part of the Google employees responsible for the Fuchsia operating system fell under a wave of layoffs. Of the 400 people who participated in the project, at least 16% were fired. Given that only Google employees in the US have been laid off so far, that number could increase in the coming weeks.

Ahead of these layoffs, Fuchsia appears to be on an upward trajectory. After several years of work on the project, the company’s operating system, built from scratch, has been redesigned for use in the Nest Hub series and is ready for use in future devices. There are even signs that Google has been ramping up internal development of Fuchsia in recent months.

Given that Google’s overall workforce is about to be cut by about 6%, the Fuchsia team appears to have been hit harder by the layoffs than other divisions. It’s not yet clear what this could mean for the project going forward.

Meanwhile, Area 120, Google’s incubator for experimental ideas , has reportedly been all but liquidated. According to Bloomberg, the division was reduced to three main projects, and almost all other employees were laid off. The move comes just months after the Area 120 division was cut in half in September. At the time, this move was framed as a reorientation of the incubator to work on “AI-first projects”. The three remaining incubator projects are due to be completed this year, which could mean the end of Area 120.