Google parent Alphabet is laying off 12,000 employees

[midian182]

What just happened? Another company has joined the long list of tech giants laying off swathes of employees. Google parent Alphabet said it is cutting 12,000 jobs worldwide, which is around 6% of its global workforce. The news comes just days after Microsoft confirmed it was eliminating 10,000 positions.

Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told staff that the cuts, which will impact jobs across all divisions of the organization, come after a rigorous review of the business. The CEO said he takes "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here."

Severance packages for US employees include at least 16 weeks of salary, their 2022 bonus, paid vacations, and six months of health coverage. Pichai thanked staff for "working so hard" and their "invaluable" contributions.

Alphabet shares over the last month. Today's uptick came after the layoff announcement

"While this transition won't be easy, we're going to support employees as they look for their next opportunity," Pichai said. "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."

Working in tech is a risky profession right now. Many companies massively increased their headcounts during the pandemic to cope with the increased demand for their services at a time when many people were stuck indoors. Most firms thought they could sustain this level of growth, but 2022 proved to be a terrible year for the economy as inflation and interest rates skyrocketed and consumers reined in their spending.

In addition to Microsoft's and now Alphabet's layoffs, Amazon has recently confirmed it will let go of a record 18,000 people, which it blames on the uncertain economy and the company's rapid hiring throughout the pandemic.

The tech industry saw more layoffs in the first week of January than across the whole of December. According to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc (via Bloomberg), nearly 97,171 tech employees lost their jobs in the US since the beginning of 2022, up 649% compared to the previous year, and that's not including those just announced by Alphabet.

Alphabet's third-quarter profits declined 27% YoY to $13.9 billion, leading to a reduction in its hiring and investors calling for more aggressive spending cuts. Alphabet Shares were up 1.8% in premarket trading following the announcement of the layoffs.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97329-google-parent-alphabet-laying-off-12000-employees.html

 

[RudyBob]

How can ya not believe everything that guys tells ya? He has the hand positioning down to a science not to mention the eyeglasses and I will bet his pants are tailored

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Likely letting go of all the fluff employees, keeping the ones that actually do the job.

Of course it'd be hilarious if google did the opposite and torpedoed itself into the ground, but I dont have high hopes.

 

[madboyv1]

At least the severance package doesn't sound hateful, and despite the volatility of the tech job market there are plenty of people still hiring. Hopefully all those that are affected will be able to find new employment soon enough.

 

[Threadcount]

Are they cutting the Jobs in Alphabetical order...

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

.com bubble 2.0. Only this time they have too much money, more brains and devotees among goverment just to sink second time

 

[Dimitrios]

Like I said 2 years ago, " Good luck everybody."

 

[yannus]

"The CEO said he takes "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.""

Okay, then share your fortune with them "fully". blablabla

 

[tellmewhy]

-Hello, I a former Google employ, can you hire me?
-Oh wow Google! But why did they fire you?
-I was too “fluffy”.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

I've always believed that something like this would happen where companies are getting back at employees that caused problems for them. Walk outs, the popularity of the great resignation and a myriad of other things. Makes you think that the tech companies are talking to each other and good at hiding their real agenda.

Sure the company will give what you want for now, but later will say bye, bye and thank you. With the development of AI one can only imagine. I wonder when the statement" Lucky you have a job" will come around again?

 

[human7]

Don't worry everyone: The CEO said he takes "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here." That makes it all better now. (sarcasm)

I understand companies that are in a bad shape financially, but most layoffs are just to chase some arbitrary margin or revenue numbers to please investors. The social contract really needs to change: companies should have a duty to their employees first, investors second.

 

[human7]

"The CEO said he takes "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.""

Okay, then share your fortune with them "fully". blablabla

Agree 100%.

 

[amghwk]

Time to move away from corporate jobs. You'll never know when they are going to f-k your a$$.

Corporates should come after your work, not you after them.

 

[Xallisto]

This is will be the refrain a lot going forward AI will eliminate a great many jobs before it eventually decides that we need to be gotten rid of.

 

[Endymio]

The social contract really needs to change: companies should have a duty to their employees first, investors second.

And employees should have a duty to their employers first, their own pocketbooks second. They should be required to pay their company "severance packages" if they ever quit or change jobs, along with repaying any training costs or overhead the company has spent on them. If the company is losing money, they should work for half-price, or better yet-- free. Where's their sense of duty, eh?