Google announces that it will lay off 12,000 employees. A decision that comes after those of Microsoft, Meta or Amazon and that shows once again that the technology sector is going through a very difficult time.
CEO Sundar Pichai announced the news via an email sent to the Mountain View giant’s teams. Google will lay off 12,000 people. The head of the Alphabet subsidiary has also published an article on the company’s official blog. “A difficult decision to prepare for the future“, we read as title.
«As a company of almost 25 years, we are forced to weather difficult economic cycles. These are important times to refocus our attention, realign our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our top priorities.writes Sundar Pichai. The manager explains that he sent his email as a priority to interested people in the United States, while the process will take more time in the other affected countries where the legislation is usually very different for better labor protection.
This means saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we have struggled to recruit and enjoy working with. I am deeply sorry for 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 crisis after two incredible years
Sundar Pichai’s speech echoes that of Mark Zuckerberg who announced, in November, 11,000 layoffs in Meta. In fact, the explanations presented are similar. “In the last two years, we have experienced periods of spectacular growth. To support and fuel this growth, we contract for a different economic reality than the one we know today.»
In other words, in 2020, the health crisis caused by Covid-19 was marked by a strong demand for technological products and services that boosted the activity of the giants in the sector for nearly two consecutive years. However, this incredible boom in e-commerce or online advertising has slowed down drastically recently, undermining the expected return on investments made during this period.
The latest news shows it. In addition to Google and Meta, let’s mention Microsoft, which will make 10,000 layoffs. The same story at Amazon, which is also laying off 10,000 employees. The technology sector is going through a jobs crisis that should not be underestimated.
Google bets on AI
On the Google side, like Microsoft, management has big ambitions around AI to relaunch. Sundar Pichai is thus proud of the investments made very early in artificial intelligence, which he presents today as a great opportunity “and we are ready to tackle it with courage and responsibilityThe buzz generated by the ChatGPT language model certainly encourages this type of strategy.
As for the dismissed, Google promises them support and details the measures that will be taken in the United States: compensation for at least 16 weeks (plus two weeks per year of seniority), reimbursement of unused leave, six months of service charge and health care to people whose dismissal may lead to expulsion.
Do you want to join a community of enthusiasts? Our Discord welcomes you, it is a place of mutual help and passion for technology.