Home » US business news • US Employment News » Google parent Alphabet to lay off 12,000 staff

Google parent Alphabet to lay off 12,000 staff

By Hugh Fort in US business news, posted January 20, 2023

Google is the latest tech giant to cut jobs, with 12,000 staff set to be laid off.

Reuters reported CEO Sundar Pichai said Alphabet faced "a different economic reality" from the past two years when it rapidly expanded its headcount, decisions for which Pichai said he took "full responsibility."

He said Google was gearing up "to share some entirely new experiences for users, developers and businesses," and the company has "a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products."

Sources said the company has been working on a major AI launch, who said it would be coming in the spring.

The New York Times also reported that Google planned to unveil more than 20 new products and a search engine including chatbot features.

Susannah Streeter, an analyst with Hargreaves Lansdown, said advertising, the key business underpinning Google's search engine and YouTube, was not immune to economic turbulence.

She said: "Ad growth has come off the boil, a sharp contrast from the busy days of the post-pandemic re-opening which saw a surge in consumer spending."

CNBC reported the full memo to staff.

The full memo

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.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

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:

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 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, reengineer 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 that 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."

Follow us on YouTube,Twitter,LinkedIn, and Facebook