Mozilla extends Firefox deal with Google search for $400-450 million: Report

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Mozilla has extended its deal with Google retaining the latter as the default search engine for its Firefox browser till 2023 for an estimated $400-450 million per year.

The three-year deal is set to be announced in November 2020 when Mozilla discloses its FY19 financial figures, sources told ZDNet. The older deal is scheduled to expire at 2020-end.

“Mozilla's search partnership with Google is ongoing, with Google as the default search provider in the Firefox browser in many places around the world. We've recently extended the partnership, and the relationship isn't changing,” a Mozilla spokesperson confirmed the development to the site.

The news emerged as Mozilla announced plans to lay off 250 employees. But sources told the site that the software company is “financially sound” and layoffs are part of a restructuring exercise in areas that were “overstaffed” and not on priority going forward.

Mozilla has long term plans to build revenue streams from subscription-based services and reduce dependence on Google search – which has historically accounted for 75-90 percent of the company’s annual budget since 2006 (except 2014-17 where Mozilla had a deal with Yahoo).