Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has announced a plan to cut about 12,000 jobs globally in the latest round of big tech layoffs.
The new decision, according to the company, would affect 6 per cent of its workforce across the world.
The new development comes a day after Microsoft announced plans to lay off approximately 11,000 of its employees.
In a blog post on Friday, Alphabet Incorp. Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Pichai, said the company has decided to reduce its workforce by approximately 12,000 roles.
“We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.
“This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here,” Mr Pichai said.
Over the past two years, he said the company has seen periods of dramatic growth.
“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.
“To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices. So, we’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions,” he said.
He noted that the layoff is an important moment to sharpen the company’s focus, re-engineer its cost base, and direct talent and capital to the company’s highest priorities.
The company had in its earnings report last October announced revenue of $69 billion and profit of $13.9 billion, marking growing revenue (up from $65.1 billion the previous year) but shrinking profits (down from $18.9 billion the same quarter in 2021).
Google is the latest technology company to lay off its employees in a new wave of massive layoffs in the tech industry in which employees of Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, IT group Salesforce and Microsoft have been affected.
Layoffs
Earlier in January, Salesforce announced it was laying off around 10 per cent of its employees.
Last year, Amazon laid off about three per cent of its corporate employees and less than one per cent of its global workforce.
In November 2022, Twitter Inc laid off half its workforce as advertisers pulled spending amid concerns about content moderation.
READ ALSO: Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, also announced it would lay off more than 11,000 of its employees, reducing the company’s workforce by about 13 per cent.
On Thursday, Microsoft announced plans to lay off approximately 11,000 of its employees, reducing the company’s workforce by roughly 5 per cent.
Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.
DonateTEXT AD: Call Willie - +2348098788999