Google Job Cuts Hit Veterans of DoubleClick Ad Tech Business

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Google's recent job cuts pushed out several company veterans who were instrumental in building its massive display advertising business — an operation that's now in the crosshairs of the US government.

At least five executives who have played key roles in Google's ad tech division lost their jobs as part of the workforce reductions, according to posts on LinkedIn and people familiar with the decisions.

Three of the executives came to Google with DoubleClick, the ad-tech firm the search giant struck a deal to buy in 2007. The acquisition made Google a powerhouse in digital advertising. While some of these executives had moved to other parts of the company, their departure may be a sign that Google is drifting away from a business that has weathered significant privacy and antitrust scrutiny.

Last week, the US Department of Justice sued Alphabet Inc.'s Google, charging the company with illegally dominating digital advertising technology. The acquisition of DoubleClick “was a first step in Google's march to monopoly,” the DOJ and eight states argued in the complaint.

Google has denied running a monopoly. The company will likely defend its practices against the charges in court for months, if not years. But it will do so without some of the key architects of its web ads business.

A spokesperson for Google didn't respond to a request for comment on the departure of the executives.

Asked about the cutbacks during an interview last week, Dan Taylor, Google's vice president of global ads, said he couldn't share how many people on the company's ad teams lost their jobs, but noted the reductions affected all product areas at Alphabet. He stressed that the display business remains a priority for Google going forward.

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