Google to lay off more than 12,000 employees

Google parent Alphabet may be the next tech giant to announce a mass layoff. The company is reportedly cutting no less than 12,000 jobs. It hasn’t publicly revealed the plans but according to Reuters, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai broke the news to employees in an internal staff memo earlier today. The publication has seen the note in which Pichai took responsibility for leading the company to this situation.

This mass layoff impacts about six percent of Google’s global workforce. The layoffs are global, meaning that the company will remove employees from most of its offices around the world, if not all. Workers in recruiting, corporate functions, engineering, products, and other business teams are being let go. According to the new report, the tech behemoth has already communicated this information to all the affected employees. US-based workers will have to vacate their offices immediately. The process may take longer in other regions depending on local employment laws. Google’s severance pay plans are not known.

Google joins the mass layoff trend in the tech industry

The move comes amid a growing global economic uncertainty. Factors like inflation and rising costs have made consumers spend cautiously, forcing companies to reduce their operational costs. Several tech giants have already announced mass layoffs to cut costs and protect their earnings as revenue declines.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced plans to cut over 10,000 jobs, while Amazon is letting go as many as 18,000 employees. Facebook parent company Meta revealed in November last year that it will lay off more than 11,000 employees, which is about 13 percent of its global workforce. The likes of T-Mobile, Verizon, Tesla, and others are also firing employees. Twitter has already reduced its workforce by about 75 percent since Elon Musk took over the company in late October last year. Google is now joining this ever-growing trend of mass layoffs in the technology industry.

In his memo to employees, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company has been recruiting globally in recent years “for a different economic reality” than the one the tech industry is facing today. He suggested that Google must retrench during these tough times and that requires it to let go over 12,000 employees. “I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here,” Pichai said. “I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI,” he added.