The head of Google Fiber is stepping down and GF is halting plans to expand to other cities. However, GF says construction will continue in metro areas such as the Triangle and Charlotte.

“Our work with continue” in some cities, GF’s top executive, Craig Barratt, wrote in a blog post late Tuesday in which he disclosed that he was stepping down. Barratt is senior vice president of Alphabet (the name for Google’s parent company) and CEO of Access, Alphabet’s name for the Google Fiber effort.

In the Triangle and North Carolina, a spokesperson for GF pointed out: “Our blog post speaks for itself.”

GF not only will continue in Morrisville and Charlotte but also remains committed to start accepting signups in six other Triangle communities, the spokesperson adds.

However, there also will be some layoffs.

“In this handful of cities that are still in an exploratory stage, and in certain related areas of our supporting operations, we’ll be reducing our employee base,” Barratt said. He did not specify where cuts would be made.

GF does have a group of managers and other employees based in the Triangle.

“Some of our efforts will remain unchanged, but others will be impacted. In terms of our existing footprint, in the cities where we’ve launched or are under construction, our work will continue,” Barratt wrote.

However, other cities will have to wait.

“For most of our ‘potential Fiber cities’ — those where we’ve been in exploratory discussions — we’re going to pause our operations and offices while we refine our approaches,” Barratt explained. Those include: Dallas; Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida; Los Angeles; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; and San Jose, California.

GF launched service in Morrisville just a month ago and earlier this year in Charlotte.

Alternative technologies

GF recently began exploring alternative technologies for delivering super-fast Internet service and related entertainment offerings. One option is wireless, and the Triangle is among the cities GF has identified to the FCC where it wants to test the technology.

“Now, just as any competitive business must, we have to continue not only to grow, but also stay ahead of the curve — pushing the boundaries of technology, business, and policy — to remain a leader in delivering superfast Internet. We have refined our plan going forward to achieve these objectives. It entails us making changes to focus our business and product strategy. Importantly, the plan enhances our focus on new technology and deployment methods to make superfast Internet more abundant than it is today,” Barratt said.

“These changes to our business and technology will have some immediate implications.”

The “implications” include the halt to expansion plans and job cuts.

GF first announced plans to deploy fiber five years ago, picking Kansas City as its initial launch point.

Barratt said he would step aside as CEO as part of the changes but noted that Google CEO Larry Page “has asked me to continue as an advisor, so I’ll still be around.”

The halt to expansion and job cuts comes after a recent report by tech news site The Information said the business was under pressure by Page to cut costs after failing to meet financial goals, including a target of signing up 5 million subscribers.

Google also faces increasing competition in the fiber business, including the Triangle where both AT&T and Frontier began offering ultra-fast services well ahead of GF’s launch. And other competitors continue to enter the market or expand their footprint.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)