Verily, the life sciences group owned by Alphabet, laid off staff this week as part of a restructuring in its molecular sciences group, Business Insider has learned.
Verily spokesperson Steven Cooper confirmed the cuts in an email to BI, stating that the affected employees worked on Verily’s Immune Profiler project, which studies the human immune system for improving disease management.
“This was a difficult decision to make, but we believe will best enable us to deliver on our precision health promise,” said Cooper.
He declined to share the exact number of employees cut, but one source familiar with the situation said 35-40 people were affected. This person asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.
Verily has been on a cost-cutting drive for over a year. It slashed 15% of roles — more than 200 people — last January and pulled back on several projects that were in development.
The unit, founded eight years ago, sits among Alphabet’s constellation of “Other Bets.” Verily’s main mission is to collect data and apply it to research, but it has struggled to transition into a profitable business.
The company has been led by CEO Stephen Gillett since September 2022. Andy Conrad, Verily’s founder and former CEO, stepped back into an advisory role before departing earlier this year.
The company has experienced steady executive turnover in recent years. Dr. Amy Abernethy, Verily’s chief medical officer who joined in 2021, departed in September, Stat reported at the time. Verily just hired Myoung Cha, a former Apple Health executive, as its new chief product officer.
Verily is in the process of separating from Alphabet’s infrastructure, part of a project named Flywheel that BI first reported on in 2021. It has set the end of 2024 as the deadline for detachment, a person familiar with the project told BI.
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