Google Labs, a beloved repository of experimental products, is going to be yanked off. The move is part of the bigger strategy to
streamline Google's products and services. Google is looking to "prioritize its products efforts" and thus is going to "wind down" Google Labs. However, all the products are not just going to vanish in the thin air. Some of them will be merged with other products or integrated in other ways.
Google allows its employees to spend up to 20 percent of their time working on their pet projects and Google Labs had many products created by its employees during such "downtime". Various Google apps such as Google Maps and Google Alerts were products of the Lab. The company will still let the employees use their 20 percent of their time for their projects. Google stated, "We don’t have any changes to announce regarding 20 percent time. We’ll continue to devote a subset of our time to newer and experimental projects. In fact, we’ll be focusing this same creative energy on bigger bets, with bigger potential long-term payoffs." The language suggests that Google would be now controlling those times more closely and that would translate to lesser individual autonomy.
Google has made sweeping changes since the taking over of management by Larry Page. It has brought about changes in features offered by its various product such as Gmail. The company is also integrating all its services more closely.