Google CEO Sundar Pichai informed all Google employees that about 12,000 people will lose their jobs.
Google is cutting its workforce by about 12,000 employees worldwide. CEO Sundar Pichai explained the decision and his vision for Google’s future, as well as compensation for employees affected by this massive layoff.
After bringing a revolution to the internet with the release of its search engine in 1998, Google has shifted its focus to AI over the past few years. In 2014, Google acquired DeepMind Technologies, a company that creates neural networks that replicate some of the mechanics of the human brain. Despite its initial investments in AI, Google faces stiff competition, including OpenAI and the AI chatbot ChatGPT, which received a massive $1 billion investment from Microsoft in 2019.
In a letter sent to all employees and later published online, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company would be parting ways with about 12,000 employees. According to Pichai, the “difficult decision” came after two years of growth that forced the company to “hire more people because of an economic reality that is different from the reality we face today.” While the CEO will take full responsibility for the layoffs, he also highlighted the future of Google and its investments in AI.
Google employees affected by this round of layoffs and based in the United States received an email informing them of their deadline. The company will pay them for a minimum period of 60 days as well as bonus 2022 and remaining leave. Google also offers a severance package that starts at 16 weeks pay plus two weeks for each year of service at the company, in addition to the number of shares of Google equity stock. To help support employees as they search for their next opportunity, Google is providing six months of healthcare, job placement, and immigration assistance to those affected. While these compensations are guaranteed to Google employees in the United States, employees from other countries will receive support “in line with national practice.”
This massive layoff by Google comes after Microsoft announced that it would cut a total of 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Both Google and Microsoft are hiring for a variety of other positions. each other as the COVID-19 pandemic spurred their growth, but as the economic situation returns to normal, companies are shedding thousands of employees. GAFAM member and Facebook parent company Meta also confirmed mass layoffs, with more than 11,000 people expected to leave the company in the first quarter of 2023.