More Mass Layoffs, This Time at Google

Alphabet to shed 6% of its workforce, or 12K jobs, citing a 'different economic reality'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 20, 2023 6:46 AM CST
More Mass Layoffs, This Time at Google
In this Sept. 24, 2019, file photo a woman walks below a Google sign on the campus in Mountain View, Calif.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Companies are shedding workers like trees shedding leaves and those at Google parent company Alphabet are the latest to feel the winds of change. Citing the "economic reality," the company announced its largest ever job cuts on Friday: It will slash 12,000 jobs worldwide, or about 6% of its workforce, per the New York Times. "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," CEO Sundar Pichai said in a memo, per NBC News. "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."

Other major tech companies—including Amazon, Meta, and Twitter—have recently announced plans to lay off thousands of workers. Microsoft revealed Wednesday that it will shed 10,000 workers, or 5% of its workforce. That means Apple is the only one of the Big Five companies yet to announce layoffs. CNBC reports that's likely because "it did not appreciably increase its rate of hiring over the last two years." Pichai said Alphabet's affected workers will be paid for 60 days and offered severance packages beginning at 16 weeks of salary, plus an additional two weeks for each year they’ve been with the company. They will also receive six months of healthcare and other support as needed. (More Alphabet stories.)

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