Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. is cutting 12,000 jobs worldwide in the latest round of layoffs to hit the tech sector.
CEO Sundar Pichai announced the cuts in a memo to Google employees that was later shared online at a company. blog post.
«This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people that we worked hard to hire and loved working with,» Pichai said. «I’m very sorry about that. The fact that these changes will affect the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.»
The cuts represent more than 6% of the company’s workforce, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear which equipment would be affected, but workers in the United States and around the world are expected to be affected, according to Pichai’s note.
The cuts come amid massive layoffs in the technology industry, with Microsoft Corp just days ago announcing plans to lay off 10,000 workers.
In his memo, Pichai cited a shifting «economic reality» when announcing the layoffs, writing: «Over the past two years we have seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we contracted for an economic reality different from the one we face.» today».
While Pichai said the company was «destined to go through difficult economic cycles,» he said he felt «confident in the tremendous opportunity ahead of us because of the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our first investments». in AI».
Pichai said workers in the US would be paid for the full notice period, a minimum of 60 days.
Workers will also be offered severance packages starting at 16 weeks of salary, plus two weeks for each additional year at Google, and 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time are also expected to be paid, he said. Pichai added that the workers will also be offered six months of medical care, job placement services and immigration support if needed.
«Outside the US, we will support employees in accordance with local practices,» he said.
Pichai said a workers’ town hall was being organized for Monday. «Until then, take good care of yourselves as you absorb this difficult news,» he wrote.