Google to lay off around 25% of Double Click employees
It sounds like Google is splitting up DoubleClick into two separate divisions, and selling off Performics. The reason Google is doing this is because Performics deals with search engine marketing (SEM), and that is a direct conflict of interest. SEM is the term used to describe optimizing your webpage to get better ranking on search engines like Google. This is a smart move -- it would look really bad if Google owned and operated their own SEM company.
In addition to selling off half of the company, New York Times reports Google is also firing 300 additional employees, or about 25% of the company. It's unclear what type of employees make up these 300, but it sounds like the lay offs may have to do with overlapping responsibilities.
Since our acquisition of DoubleClick closed on March 11, we have been working to match and align DoubleClick employees in the U.S. with our organizational plan for the business. As with many mergers, this review has resulted in a reduction in headcount at the acquired company.