Google isn’t kidding around about cost cutting, even slashing its FT subscription
Google isn’t kidding around about cost cutting, even slashing its FT subscription as part of a broader effort to trim expenses. The search giant may be reporting strong financial results, but sources say enterprise media subscriptions like the Financial Times are no longer safe.
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Google’s 2025 cost-cutting spree
Throughout 2025, Google has been rolling out major cost reductions. Earlier this year, it cut 35% of managers overseeing small teams and launched voluntary exit programs across several divisions. CFO Anat Ashkenazi had already signaled that tighter spending was coming, and recent moves show the company is staying the course—even after posting $96.4 billion in Q2 revenue.
Canceling subscriptions like the FT might save only thousands, but the decision reflects Google’s intent to trim every corner of its operations.
Strained ties with publishers
The timing of these cuts is notable. Google’s relationship with publishers has already been strained as referral traffic from Search continues to decline. According to Digital Content Next, publishers saw a median 10% traffic drop between May and June 2025, with non-news brands seeing 14% declines.
Major outlets like CNN, Business Insider, and HuffPost reportedly suffered even steeper drops—up to 40%—as measured by SimilarWeb data.
The AI Overviews effect
Publishers blame much of the decline on Google’s AI Overviews feature. Since its launch, external click-throughs have fallen between 56% and 69%, according to Pew Research. Their survey this spring found six in ten U.S. adults encountered at least one AI-generated summary in a Google search.
This shift keeps users inside Google’s ecosystem while reducing traffic to publishers, worsening an already tense dynamic.
Competitors take a different path
Unlike Google, rivals like OpenAI have pursued content licensing deals. OpenAI has already partnered with The Financial Times, News Corp, and Axel Springer, among others. Google, by contrast, has secured only a handful of agreements—such as one with the Associated Press and an annual Reddit deal reportedly worth $60 million.
Google isn’t kidding around about cost cutting, even slashing its FT subscription in what looks like a symbolic but telling move. While the financial impact may be small, the optics matter: cutting ties with respected outlets highlights the company’s increasingly complicated relationship with the media—and its determination to cut costs wherever possible.
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