Google is once again stripping back management layers, this time by flattening teams in its core US ad sales unit, Business Insider has learned.
US employees in the Google Customer Solutions (GCS) division were informed last month that several changes to the leadership structure would take effect in January, in a memo sent by its vice president, John Nicoletti.
This latest restructuring shows how even the most profitable corners of Big Tech are moving to run leaner and faster. Google’s ad business, which still accounts for the bulk of its revenue, is flattening management layers to speed up decisions and reduce bureaucracy as growth slows and competition from AI-driven rivals intensifies. In an all-hands meeting in August, Google leaders told staff that the company had reduced the number of managers overseeing small teams by 35% over the previous year.
The changes inside GCS, which serves midsize advertisers, reflect a wider trend across the tech industry: the end of cushy managerial hierarchies in a cost-conscious era.
One change will be to remove the layer of “Managers of Managers,” or MoMs, across several teams, Nicoletti said in the memo, which was reviewed by Business Insider. No layoffs were mentioned in the email, which said the affected employees would move into other roles. The exact number of manager roles being removed could not be learned
“Unlocking our next stage of growth means building our team strategy and structure for the long term,” Nicoletti wrote.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes to Business Insider.
“Our teams have continued to make changes to operate more efficiently, remove layers, and better serve our customers,” the spokesperson said.
Nicoletti said the changes in ad sales in January would “Empower our teams, with a focus on agility to accelerate decision-making, and keeping leadership close to the work by simplifying our organizational structure.”
Ad sales is a critical part of Google’s business, and GCS — which focuses on midsize clients — is the central engine. In the September memo to staff, Nicoletti described GCS as “managing a portfolio the size of a Fortune 100 company.”
As part of the upcoming January changes for GCS, Nicoletti said all managers across select teams would become “Heads of business” and report directly to directors with no management layer in between. This would include removing a layer within its mid-market sales group — a role known as account strategy management — that previously stood between account executives and managers, and the heads of business.
He also told staff that Google would reopen account executive roles “to continue investing in capacity for deep customer partnerships.”
“One of the reasons that we’ve been so successful is that we’re outstanding at driving momentum through continuous change,” Nicoletti wrote. “This will be no different.”
Google is not alone in reducing management layers. In recent years, tech giants such as Intel, Amazon, and Microsoft have also flattened their management structures in an effort to become more efficient.
GCS was the only division mentioned in Nicoletti’s memo, but it’s not the only team in ad sales. It also has teams working on Large Customer Sales (LCS), which focus on the biggest and most complex customers.
In January 2024, Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, told staff that GCS would become the “core channel for scaling growth” as the company pared back teams on LCS.
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