going on a break is not the same as breaking up

Filed to: going on a break is not the same as breaking up

Image: AP

Google announced Tuesday that it is “pausing” its Fiber operations in ten cities. Google Fiber will remain in cities that Google has already laid the infrastructure for, but Alphabet is putting a halt on future development. Google will also be laying off 9% of its Fiber team, according to Ars Technica. The CEO of Google Access, Craig Barratt, is also stepping down.




What is Google Fiber, you ask? Surprisingly enough, it is not the tech giant’s answer to Soylent—although a high tech breakfast cereal designed to get your intestines going should be called Google Fiber. It is high-speed fiber optic internet, which is something the country desperately needs. Google is putting a halt on operations in the following cities, meaning these are where the layoffs will be happening:



Chicago, Illinois

Dallas, Texas

Jacksonville, Florida

Los Angeles, California

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Phoenix, Arizona

Portland, Oregon

San Diego, California

San Jose, California

Tampa, Florida

Here’s what Barratt wrote about the changes:

These changes to our business and technology will have some immediate implications. Some of our efforts will remain unchanged, but others will be impacted. In terms of our existing footprint, in the cities where we’ve launched or are under construction, our work will continue. For most of our ‘potential Fiber cities’—those where we’ve been in exploratory discussions—we’re going to pause our operations and offices while we refine our approaches... In this handful of cities that are still in an exploratory stage, and in certain related areas of our supporting operations, we’ll be reducing our employee base.


In August, Alphabet CEO Larry Page recommended Craig Barratt cut his staff in half, coming on the heels of a report that the company is shifting its focus to wireless technology. Seems like Google Fiber may hold the same fate as Verizon FiOS (bad).

As we all know, too much Fiber and everything turns to shit.

[Google via Ars Technica]