Google said on Thursday it will merge teams working on the mapping service Waze and products like Google Maps, effective Dec. 9, in a bid to consolidate processes. The company will integrate Waze, which it acquired in 2013 for $1 billion, into Google Geo, its portfolio of real-world mapping products that include Google Maps, Google Earth, and Street View, a Google spokesperson said.

The Geo division will absorb over 500 Waze employees, which has otherwise been independent of Google since its acquisition in 2013 and maintained a separate culture. 

Waze is much more focused on crowdsourced mapping conditions and less of a directory compared to Google Maps. Drivers – 151 million monthly active users – find value in the separation and it makes using Waze much simpler and faster.