Google cuts more than 100 design-related roles in cloud unit

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, speaks at a cloud computing conference held by the company in 2019. Google has laid off more than 100 employees in design-related roles, CNBC has learned. Earlier this week, the company laid off employees within the cloud unit's "quantitative user experience research" teams and "platform and service experience" teams, as well as some adjacent teams, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. The roles often focus on using data, surveys and other tools to understand and implement user behaviors that inform product development and design. Google has halved some of the cloud unit's design teams, and many of those affected are U.S.-based roles. Some employees have been given until early December to find a new role within the company. The company did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Business Insider first reported that some cloud roles were eliminated.