Google announces merger with Waze

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More than ten years after Google acquired Waze , the Mountain View company has announced that the teams behind the navigation app will merge with those of its Geo division , which includes Maps, Earth, and Street View.

Waze and Google Maps will remain two very distinct applications
Google acquired Waze in 2013 for $1.1 billion. At the time, it was the fourth-largest acquisition in the web giant's history. While the two services sweden mobile database separate, Google still incorporated Waze's most popular features into Google Maps . As a reminder, Waze is popular with drivers because it offers highly accurate traffic information and has 151 million monthly active users .

Now, Waze's 500 team members will join Google's workforce , while keeping the two products distinct : " Google remains deeply committed to Waze's unique brand, beloved app, and thriving community of volunteers and users ," a company spokesperson said.

As a result, Neha Parikh, the current CEO of Waze, will be stepping down. The company's employees will report to Christopher Phillips, who heads Google's Geo division.

Google must cut its expenses
This decision is in line with what Google CEO Sundar Pichai said last September, when he demanded that his teams be 20% more productive with fewer resources . Since July, the Mountain View company has been preparing for difficult times, and has also decided to cut projects in one of its experimental labs by half. The reasons for this are the unfavorable macroeconomic environment and the geopolitical context, which are forcing investors to review their priorities .

As reported by the Wall Street Journal , fund management firm TCI Fund Management recently asked Google to cut its expenses and staff. While the company insists that the merger with Waze will not result in layoffs , it also explains that this restructuring should help avoid overlap between the work of different teams…