Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who also leads its parent company Alphabet, informed staff at the Silicon Valley giant about the cuts in an email that was also posted on the company’s news blog.
It is the company’s biggest-ever round of layoffs and adds to tens of thousands of other job losses recently announced by Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook parent Meta and other tech companies as they tighten their belts amid a darkening outlook for the industry. Just this month, there have been at least 48,000 job cuts announced by major companies in the sector.
“Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” Pichai wrote. “To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.”
He said the layoffs reflect a “rigorous review” carried out by Google of its operations.
The jobs being eliminated “cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions,” Pichai said. He said he was “deeply sorry” for the layoffs.
Regulatory filings illustrate how Google’s workforce swelled during the pandemic, ballooning to nearly 187,000 people by late last year from 119,000 at the end of 2019.
Pichai said that Google, founded nearly a quarter of a century ago, was “bound to go through difficult economic cycles.”
This story is from the January 27, 2023 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 27, 2023 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
NEW JERSEY OFFSHORE WIND FARM CLEARS BIG FEDERAL HURDLE AMID ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
The federal government gave a key approval this week to an offshore wind farm in New Jersey, even as residents in the town where its power cable would come ashore worry it could go through underground toxic waste that’s still being cleaned up.
AUSTRALIA'S ONLINE DATING INDUSTRY ADOPTS CODE OF CONDUCT TO KEEP USERS SAFER
A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia’s government said this week.
PARENTS WILL HAVE TO SET ASIDE SOME EARNINGS FOR CHILD INFLUENCERS UNDER NEW CALIFORNIA LAWS
Parents in California who profit from social media posts featuring their children will be required to set aside some earnings for their minor influencers under a pair of measures signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
WARREN BUFFETT BUYS REST OF BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY'S UTILITIES.BUT INVESTORS MUST GUESS AT THE PRICE
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying the rest of its utility unit from the estate of a longtime board member who died three years ago, but it’s not clear exactly how much it will pay for that 8% stake in the massive utility business.
SPACEX LAUNCHES RESCUE MISSION FOR 2 NASA ASTRONAUTS WHO ARE STUCK IN SPACE UNTIL NEXT YEAR
SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station, sending up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year.
TESLA POSTS FIRST QUARTERLY INCREASE IN DELIVERIES, BUT SHARES SLUMP WITH INVESTORS HOPING FOR MORE
Low interest financing, sweet lease deals, price cuts and free charging boosted Tesla’s global deliveries in the third quarter, the first increase this year for the electric vehicle maker.
ARKANSAS SUES YOUTUBE OVER CLAIMS THAT THE SITE IS FUELING A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet this week, saying the video-sharing platform is made deliberately addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among youth in the state.
EPIC GAMES SUES GOOGLE AND SAMSUNG OVER PHONE SETTINGS, ACCUSING THEM OF VIOLATING ANTITRUST LAWS
Video game maker Epic Games sued Google and Samsung this week, accusing the tech companies of coordinating to block third-party competition in application distribution on Samsung devices.
JAPANESE SPONSORS TOYOTA BRIDGESTONE AND PANASONIC END OLYMPIC CONTRACTS
The International Olympic Committee’s three major Japanese sponsors — Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone — are terminating their contracts.
SATELLITE SERVICE DIRECTV BUYS RIVAL DISH AS IT FIGHTS THE ONSLAUGHT OF STREAMING SERVICES
DirecTV is buying Dish and Sling, a deal it has sought to complete for years, as the company seeks to better compete against streaming services that have become dominant.