Downtown Kitchener businesses react to Google layoffs

Some downtown Kitchener businesses said they are not too worried about a recent announcement of layoffs at Google.

The tech giant told staff in mid-January it would be laying off 12,000 workers. On Monday, the company sent notifications to impacted Canadian employees. 

It's not known exactly how many in the Region of Waterloo lost their job, but several former employees who worked at the Kitchener location confirmed online that they were impacted by the cuts.

“While we cannot comment on specifics, Canada remains an important priority market for Google,” Lauren Skelly, a spokesperson for Google Canada said in an email.

Cora Kuehl, the front of house manager at Cafe Pyrus in downtown Kitchener, said Google doesn’t seem to make up much of their customer base. Kuehl said many of their customers work in the tech industry, but at locations within their building or other parts of downtown.

"I feel like our cafe has a niche group of people that come in. I feel like if people want to come in, they're still going to come in," Kuehl said.

"Even with Google layoffs happening, I don't think that's going to stop any other tech companies from still visiting our cafe," Kuehl said.

When it comes to selling a home in downtown Kitchener, a real estate agent said having Google in the community is a selling point for some customers, but more often it's the overall opportunity that the tech industry in the Region of Waterloo presents that gets people purchasing a property.

"Of course, Google has more of a global presence that people are aware of. But when you to talk about all these other start-ups and all these apply boards and things like that, that are here," Shawn Ramautor, sales representative, Royal LePage Wolle Realty.

According to Ramautor, many of the buyers that move to the region have skills that can be applied in multiple industries. He doesn't expect the layoffs to have a lasting effect.

"We have to look back and take into consideration what happened in the mid 2000’s when RIM announced their closures and all of the spin off and start-ups started, because of all these brightest and best people now that are looking for work," Ramautor said.

The president of the Canadian Council of innovators, said he's already started receiving calls from CEOs looking to connect with the former Google employees and is confident they’re going to find jobs and stay in the community.