The layoffs are the most recent to hit the technology industry, and they come just days after a rival company, Microsoft Corp., announced it would lay off 10,000 employees. On Wednesday, the online retail giant Amazon began the process of firing nearly 18,000 employees, the company’s largest ever layoff.
In a memo to employees on Friday, Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, announced that nearly 12,000 employees would be laid off.
The layoffs are the most recent to hit the technology industry, and they come just days after a rival company, Microsoft Corp., announced it would lay off 10,000 employees. As it battles slow online sales and a looming global recession, online retailer Amazon began the process of laying off nearly 18,000 employees on Wednesday. This was the largest layoff in Amazon’s history.
The company’s recruiting and some corporate functions teams, as well as some engineering and products teams, will be impacted by the layoffs. According to Google, the global layoffs will immediately affect employees based in the United States.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a note, “I have some difficult news to share.” We have made the decision to cut approximately 12,000 positions from our workforce. A separate email has already been sent to affected US employees. Due to local regulations and practices, this procedure will take longer in other nations.
“This will mean saying goodbye to some extremely talented individuals with whom we have enjoyed working and whom we have worked hard to hire. I sincerely apologize for that. He elaborated, “I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here, and the fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me.”
Google and Microsoft have been investing in generative artificial intelligence, a relatively new field of software, during this time of economic uncertainty and technological promise.
“I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI,” Pichai said at the conclusion of his note.
