Google Axes Lobbyists Amid Growing Government Scrutiny

Google has fired about a half-dozen of its largest lobbying firms as part of a major overhaul of its global government affairs and policy operations amid the prospect of greater government scrutiny of its businesses. In the past few months, the company has shaken up its roster of lobbying firms, restructured its Washington policy team, and lost two senior officials who helped build its influence operation into one of the largest in the nation’s capital. The firms Google has dumped make up about half of the company’s more than $20 million annual lobbying bill. Apparently, the company overhauled its policy team to better reflect the global reach of its commercial ambitions and handle potential entanglements with regulators and lawmakers across regions and markets.