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During Alphabet's Q4 2023 earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai provided insights into the company's Google One cloud storage service, revealing that it is on the verge of surpassing 100 million subscribers. Pichai expressed the company's commitment to enhancing the Google One service by introducing additional AI-powered features. Launched in 2018, Google One has evolved over the years, offering subscribers various perks, including advanced Google Photos editing features like magic eraser, portrait light, portrait blur, color pop, and sky suggestion.
Google One subscription plans start at $1.99 per month, providing users with 100GB of shareable storage that can be utilized by up to five people. Additionally, subscribers in the United States gain access to the company's VPN service. Pichai highlighted the positive trajectory of Google's overall subscription business, encompassing offerings such as YouTube Premium and Music, YouTube TV, and Google One. The segment's annual revenues have exceeded $15 billion, representing a substantial fivefold increase compared to the figures reported in 2019. The "Subscriptions, Platforms and Devices" vertical, fueled by robust subscription performance, reported an impressive 23% year-on-year growth.
Despite these positive developments, Google's Q4 2023 ad revenue of $65.5 billion fell short of analysts' expectations, who were anticipating $65.8 billion. This shortfall led to a 4% decline in the company's stocks. Pichai also addressed recent workforce changes, acknowledging that nearly 1,000 employees were affected by layoffs in divisions such as hardware, engineering, and services, along with an additional 100 employees from YouTube. He hinted at the possibility of more job cuts in the upcoming year.
While the recent workforce reduction occurred, Google's total employee count saw a slight increase from 182,381 in Q3 to 182,502 in the Q4 earnings release. However, this number remains significantly lower than the 190,234 employees reported at the end of 2022. Pichai's announcement reflects the dynamic landscape of Google's business operations, including its efforts to streamline operations, respond to market changes, and continue its focus on subscription-based services.
