Google Parent Alphabet to lay off about 12,000 Employees Worldwide

The news of layoffs has become the order of the day, and among the tech giants that have sacked their employees is Alphabet. The Google parent is to lay off about 12,000 of their employees worldwide. The information was given by the company CEO, Sundar Pichai, who sent the memo through email to his workers. While speaking Pichai takes full responsibility for the decision to lay off that percentage of their workforce, which he believes is a hard decision. He can’t but admit that they saw great growth in the company which made them hire more people in the last two years. They only employed for the present economy that year, which is now different from what they face today, he said.

Why did Google lay off 12,000 employees?

Google had to fire about 12,000 employees because they over-hired a lot of staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pichai in his words said the decision was to streamline the workplace according to the priorities of the company. To the people affected Google has sent emails to them, with different emails to the US workers. The layoff is meant to start with the US before it moves into other countries, in which India can be the next after the US.

He added that there will be a different process for those outside the US because of local laws and practices, and it will take time too.

What compensation is Google giving the affected workers?

For people laid off it is expected they get a severance package and Pichai made it known that there are severance packages for US employees. They will receive at least sixteen weeks of their salary, and also their 2022 bonus. Paid vacations, and 6 months’ payment to cover their health.

He went further and said, they are positive about their abilities to still deliver while on their mission, even though they are in the tough days. The CEO promised to support the workers that are affected by the layoffs, especially the ones outside the US, and will be in line with local practices.

The Memo Sent for the Layoff

Read the full memo the CEO Pichai sent out to staff on Friday, to ascertain the layoffs from Google:

Googlers,

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. 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.

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.

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.

To the Googlers who are leaving us: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses everywhere. Your contributions have been invaluable and we are grateful for them.

While this transition won’t be easy, we’re going to support employees as they look for their next opportunity.

In the US: For those affected by Google Layoffs:

• We’ll pay employees during the full notification period (minimum 60 days).
• 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 vesting.
• We’ll pay 2022 bonuses and the remaining vacation time.
• We’ll be offering 6 months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected.
• Outside the US, we’ll support employees in line with local practices.

As an almost 25-year-old company, we’re bound to go through difficult economic cycles. These are important moments to sharpen our focus, re-engineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities.

Being constrained in some areas allows us to bet big on others. Pivoting the company to be AI-first years ago led to groundbreaking advances across our businesses and the whole industry.

Thanks to those early investments, Google’s products are better than ever. And we’re getting ready to share some entirely new experiences for users, developers, and businesses, too. We have a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products and are prepared to approach it boldly and responsibly.

All this work is a continuation of the “healthy disregard for the impossible” that’s been core to our culture from the beginning. When I look around Google today, I see the same spirit and energy driving our efforts. That’s why I remain optimistic about our ability to deliver on our mission, even on our toughest days. Today is certainly one of them.

I’m sure you have many questions about how we’ll move forward. We’ll be organizing a town hall on Monday. Check your calendar for details. Until then, please take good care of yourselves as you absorb this difficult news. As part of that, if you are just starting your work day, please feel free to work from home today.

-Sundar

More Updates on the Layoff

Wall Street welcomes the layoff: The shares of Alphabet rose by 3.5% in electronic trading before the stock market was opened. Some analysts said the tech giants have spent so much earlier and didn’t see a slowdown on the horizon.

Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities also said the job cut highlights the irresponsibility in spending which was across all sectors basking in “hyper-growth”. The reality is tech stalwarts are over-hired at a pace that couldn’t be sustained and has a darker macro which is forcing layoffs all across the tech environment.

Also, according to another tech site, about 194,000 working with these tech companies have lost their jobs, since the beginning of 2022, even in the US, without including the one announced by Alphabet. 

Significant layoffs were also announced this month by Salesforce, a specialist in cloud computing, and Hewlett Packard, whose growth has been hindered by runaway inflation and rising interest rates.

US tech giants are also under investigation in the European Union, which has been enforcing laws to prevent them from dodging taxes, suppressing competition, making unreimbursed profits from journalistic material, and acting as an environment for hate speech and disinformation.

Final words on Google Layoff 2023

The layoffs we have seen in the last few months is alarming, and Google layoffs is the recent. We don't know what to expect next, but we believe things will find clarity over time. We have so many job updates, that you can check HERE as well.