Last Updated on January 20, 2023
Google has announced that it will be laying off 12,000 workers — roughly 6% of its current workforce — in another round of recent cuts at a major tech company. Google joins Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook parent company Meta in announcing mass layoffs in recent weeks. The companies have cited recent economic decline following post-pandemic boosts that led to increased hiring.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who also heads its parent company Alphabet, informed staff about the cuts in an email on Friday night. The email was later posted on the tech giant’s news blog.
“I have some difficult news to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected,” Pichai wrote in the email.
“Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today,” he went on to say.
“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,” the email continued. “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.”
According to the Associated Press, the latest cuts account for the company’s largest-ever round of layoffs.
The layoffs add to thousands of jobs lost in recent weeks at additional tech giants, including Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook parent company Meta.
Meta, like Google, laid off thousands of workers this past November in what amounted to the company’s largest single round of layoffs. The company also cited recent economic woes that followed a brief hiring and growth spree in the immediate aftermath of pandemic lockdowns being lifted.