This morning, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced their decision to lay off 12,000 employees and contractors, or approximately 5% of their total workforce.
In an email to staff, Pichai said
Difficult times ahead. Google’s announcement comes on the heels after several other large tech companies announced their own plans to cut jobs.
- Zuckerberg announced Meta to cut 11,000 jobs in November
- Amazon to let go 18,000
- Microsoft announced its own plans to lay off 10,000 just one day before Google’s announcement
- Twitter also announced they were letting go an additional 50 workers, leaving the company’s headcount to about 2,000
The recent layoffs are mainly due to the dramatic growth tech companies saw during the first two years of the pandemic. A recent Forbes article explains
In his email to employees, Pichai said,
Will search be affected? We’re not sure. There’s no indication yet which jobs will be cut and which will be saved. But there is a chance that support and customer service staff across search and ads will possibly be hit. If that happens, advertisers could grow frustrated with long wait times for chat or delayed ad approvals, reviews, and appeals.
Why we care. The massive loss of jobs will be tough on those affected. Though most will get generous severance packages, they could struggle to find new jobs in their field. Additionally, mass layoffs can spook investors, the company loses valuable skills, and surviving employees feel uncertain.
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