Update: Barry got a statement from Google: http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/023322.html

We are changing the structure of agency support in order to better scale and align our team with the vertical expertise and focus area of our agency partners; better partnership means higher impact for our shared clients. This realignment will help our team to give agencies more relevant insights for their clients, and to provide service to a larger portion of smaller accounts. We’ve transitioned some of our support resources in an effort to provide everyone with the service they need to resolve issues and give advertisers the best possible support. This realignment will help our team to give agencies more relevant insights for their clients, and to provide service to a larger portion of smaller accounts. Overall, we’ve increased our investment in agencies; there are more dedicated agency leads focused on strategic partnerships with agencies, and working with agencies to drive the industry forward. One set of agencies will have a dedicated agency lead; specific accounts within those agencies will have dedicated vertical account management teams, who can offer industry-specific expertise. A second set of agencies will not have an assigned agency team, but will be able to receive support via phone.

ah it's just a case of cutting back support when they should be investing more support, i'm sure it will be a year when a lot of money will be moved out of Google and to Bing/Yahoo and Facebook who offer the support agencies need.

Of course there is the shift with Google preferring direct clients so this move makes it easier.