Google will eliminate 12,000 employees, and CEO Sundar Pichai claims the firm hired people for a different economic reality.

• Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced plans to fire 12,000 workers worldwide.

• Google stated that people who were affected in the US would receive a severance compensation, but those outside the US would receive support “in line with local traditions.”

• Pichai writes in his email to employees, “Over the previous two years, we’ve seen moments of significant growth, and we hired for a different economic reality than the one we confront today.”

Alphabet, the company that owns Google, has announced that it will be firing 12,000 workers from a variety of positions, levels, and geographic locations. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of the business, informed the staff of the choice in an email on Friday.

“This will require bidding farewell to some extraordinarily excellent individuals we worked arduously to hire and have enjoyed working with. I apologise profusely for that. Pichai stated in an email that was later posted on the official Google site, “I take full responsibility for the actions that brought us here. The fact that these changes will affect the lives of Googlers weighs hard on me.

Google now joins the growing group of major tech firms that are laying off employees. The other companies are Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Meta, all of which have recently cut thousands of positions. A layoff tracker called Layoffs.fyi reports that 133 tech businesses worldwide have declared the elimination of 38,815 jobs in 2023 alone.

This number increased significantly in 2022 as 1,54,843 jobs were lost by 1,030 enterprises.

Pichai established a support programme for the affected employees, which included a severance package and healthcare coverage for six months following the termination of their employment. This support programme, however, only applies to US employees.
Pichai stated, “Outside the US, we’ll help employees in accordance with local practises.

Google India responded to Business Insider India by stating that it is unclear how many jobs in India will be affected or what their support strategy will be.

As a result of a slowdown in its food delivery operation, foodtech firm Swiggy fired 380 employees earlier today.

We will inevitably experience challenging economic cycles.

Pichai added, “As an almost 25-year-old firm, we’re bound to go through severe economic cycles,” in response to the challenging global financial circumstances.
The number of employees at Google has significantly increased from 2020, the year of Covid-19, from 1,18,899 at the end of 2019 to 1,56,500 at the end of 2021. This is an increase of 37,601 employees, or 31.6%, in just two years.

“Over the last two years, there have been times of really rapid growth. In order to meet and support that development, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we currently confront, Pichai acknowledged, while also recognising the current economic unpredictability.

Pichai said that a town hall meeting on Monday will include additional information of the layoffs and the future plan. “Until then, kindly look after yourselves as you process this upsetting news. As part of that, feel free to work from home today if you are just beginning your workday, he said.