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Google isn’t kidding around about cost cutting, even slashing its FTsubscription
Google is ending its FT subscription as part of broader cost-cutting measures despite strong financial results. The company has been reducing costs across 2025, cutting managerial positions and offering voluntary exits, amid declining traffic to news publishers attributed to its AI features. These changes highlight strained relationships with media outlets, raising concerns about Google's role in journalism.
Key points
- Google ends its Financial Times enterprise subscription as part of cost-cutting measures.
- These cuts are despite Google's strong Q2 2025 results, reporting $96.4 billion in revenue.
- Google has reduced costs by eliminating 35% of managers overseeing small teams and offering voluntary exit programs.
- Traffic to media outlets has declined, with referral traffic from Google Search to publishers dropping 10%.
- Publishers, experiencing up to 40% declines, attribute this to Google's AI Overviews feature that limits click-throughs.
- Neil Vogel of People Inc. criticized Google as a 'bad actor' for not supporting publishers.
Why it matters
- The trend of major tech companies cutting costs while reporting good earnings reflects a wider industry move towards efficiency amid economic uncertainty.
- As of 2025, AI features are increasingly impacting publisher traffic, challenging traditional media revenue models.
- This decision aligns with growing criticisms of Big Tech's influence over news distribution and media sustainability.
Google's decision to cut its FT subscription highlights ongoing tensions between tech giants and news publishers, raising critical questions about the sustainability of journalism in the AI-driven era.