Google to Lay Off 12,000 Employees
NEW DELHI, Jan 20: As Silicon Valley reels from recent layoffs and faces a troubled outlook, Google’s parent Alphabet Inc is eliminating about 12,000 jobs, about six per cent of its workforce, the company said on Friday,.
Alphabet, whose shares rose 3% in pre-market trading, is making the cuts just as the U.S. company confronts a threat to its long-held perch atop the technology sector. For years Alphabet has attracted top talent to build Google, YouTube and other products that reach billions of users, but it is now locked in competition with Microsoft Corp in a burgeoning area known as generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). The cuts at Alphabet come days after Microsoft said it would lay off 10,000 workers.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told staff in a memo that the firm had reviewed its products, people and priorities, leading to job cuts across geographies and tech. It had rapidly expanded for better times but now faced “a different economic reality.” “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,” said Pichai.
Alphabet’s job losses affect teams across the company including recruiting and some corporate functions, as well as some engineering and products teams. The layoffs are global and impact U.S. staff immediately. Alphabet has already emailed affected employees, the memo said, while the process will take longer in other countries due to local employment laws and practices.
The news comes during a period of economic uncertainty as well as technological promise. “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,” Pichai said.
Google has offered the laid off ‘Googlers’ support as they look for their next opportunity. Google employees who have been laid off will be paid during the full notification period which is a minimum of 60 days. 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time will also be paid. “We’ll also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks’ salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU (Google Stock Unit) vesting,” Sundar Pichai said in the email.
The employees will also get six months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected. Workers outside the US will be supported in line with local practices.
The cuts come days after rival Microsoft Corp said it would lay off 10,000 workers.
The news comes during a period of economic uncertainty as well as technological promise, in which Google and Microsoft have been investing in a fledgling area of software known as generative artificial intelligence.
(Manas Dasgupta)
