Technology: Google sacks 450-plus in India, and appoints Ind-Am Neal Mohan as YouTube’s CEO
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In a curious sequence, search engine behemoth Google sacked over 450 employees in India late on Thursday—simultaneously as it appointed Indian-American Neal Mohan as CEO of YouTube!
According to the media reports on Friday, the technology giant sacked 453 employees from various departments in India late on Thursday night.
Google India’s Country Head and Vice President Sanjay Gupta sent out an email to the employees concerned in this regard.
In January, Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. announced the sacking of nearly 12,000 employees worldwide, nearly 6 percent of its total global workforce of over 190,000. Its CEO Sundar Pichai also mailed the employees taking “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.”
“We’ve already sent a separate email to affected employees in the US. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices,” he added.
Pichai clarified the company had undertaken a “rigorous review across product areas and functions” to ensure that people and roles are aligned with the company’s highest priorities.
“The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels, and regions,” he said in the mail.
In January, Microsoft announced 10,000 job cuts or nearly 5 percent of its workforce. Amazon is cutting 18,000 jobs, while Facebook’s parent Meta also said it is trimming 11,000 positions worldwide.
Interestingly, Google’s action came at a time when its video-sharing and social media platform YouTube appointed Indian-American Neal Mohan as the successor to CEO Susan Wojcicki.
She said she is stepping down and Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan will take the lead as the Senior Vice President and new Head (CEO) of YouTube.
YouTube has been led by a CEO since its founding in 2005 and has retained this leadership model even after its acquisition by Google.
Wojcicki joined Google’s video-sharing and social media platform as the CEO in 2014.
“Today, after nearly 25 years here, I’ve decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about,” she said.
She will, however, continue working with YouTube teams, coaching members, and meeting with creators, the reports added.
Her successor Neal Mohan, 47, was born in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). In 1996, he graduated from Stanford University with a degree in electrical engineering.
He is married to Hema Sareen Mohan who has worked in non-profit and public welfare sectors for two decades.
