Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., just stated that it will lay off 12,000 employees, representing approximately 6% of its global workforce. This brings Google in line with several other tech giants, including Meta and Amazon, who have lately announced major layoffs.
Google employees claim they were fired because they lacked an “element of humanity.”
The layoffs are the consequence of the continued economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the company’s need to safeguard its bottom line. The epidemic has resulted in a large decrease in advertising revenue, which is the company’s primary source of revenue. As a result, the corporation has had to make difficult decisions in order to cut expenses while maintaining long-term survival.
The layoffs are occurring all over the globe, with the majority beginning with their offices in the United States.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized that the company’s priority is to help the impacted workers, and that compensation pay and job search assistance will be provided. “The fact that these changes will impact Googlers’ lives weighs deeply on me, and I accept full responsibility for the actions that lead us here,” Pichai added.
The job cuts will affect teams across the organization, including recruiting and other corporate activities, as well as several engineering and product teams.
The announcement comes at a time of economic instability as well as technical promise, with Google and Microsoft investing in a budding field of software known as generative artificial intelligence.
Pichai also stated that the business would continue to invest in areas where it feels there will be future development and innovation, such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Many Google employees who were laid off are now sharing their stories on LinkedIn.
Although the news of widespread layoffs is regrettable, it is not wholly unexpected. Google suspended recruiting in mid-2022, and Pichai even stated that employees are not working hard enough and that they should not associate enjoyment with money. “We don’t always get to select the macroeconomic conditions,” Pichai stated.
While Google CEO Eric Schmidt has stated that impacted employees will get incentives, a fresh allegation claims that Google has postponed issuing year-end bonus checks for employees this year. This is rare for Google employees, as the business typically provides a total bonus in January of each year.
In contrast, according to a report, the firm board approved a new equity reward for CEO Sundar Pichai that links more of his salary to performance.
Google’s news comes only days after Microsoft announced the layoff of 10,000 employees. Other digital behemoths, including as Meta and Twitter, have also laid off thousands of employees as the global economy has weakened.
Twitter has cut half of its personnel since Elon Musk’s takeover last year. The firm presently employs over 2,000 people. More employees were let go by the social media behemoth earlier this week. Other American IT behemoths that have laid off staff to slash costs include HP, Adobe, and Salesforce. On the other side, major Indian IT companies, including Swiggy, Dunzo, and others, have laid off hundreds of employees.
Google, like numerous other major businesses, has admitted to overhiring during the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic when everyone was compelled to work from home. As a result, people spent more time online, and tech businesses expected post-pandemic growth as well. However, as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war and other socioeconomic situations, tech behemoths began to feel the heat.
If the situation does not improve, Google and other tech companies may dismiss even more staff.
