Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is cutting more than six percent of its total global workforce. That amounts to about 12,000 jobs that will disappear. Previously, other large tech companies have already announced major rounds of layoffs.
CEO Sundar Pichai has internally announced the layoffs at Alphabet by means of an e-mail, where Bloomberg quotes from. The layoffs will take place throughout the company, but it is not clear how many jobs will disappear in which divisions and when this must be effected. It is also unknown to what extent this will affect the Dutch and Belgian part of the company.
In the email, the CEO says that he ‘takes full responsibility for the decisions that led us here’ , although it is not clear what exactly he means by that; it doesn’t seem to be about a departure from Pichai. He also says this is an important time to sharpen focus, rethink costs and refocus the company on its highest priorities. By this he means, among other things, investing in artificial intelligence.
Google is dealing with a decline in the field of digital advertising, among other things. There has been pressure on the company for some time to further reduce costs, pointing, among other things, to the experimental ‘other bets’ division. This part is notorious for the considerable losses that are often made. The companies Waymo and Nest, among others, fall under this division, as does the medical company Verily.
Alphabet is certainly not the only large tech company that is going to make a round of layoffs. For example, Microsoft recently announced that 10,000 jobs will be cut, which amounts to less than five percent of the total workforce, according to the company. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said recently in an interview all that the tech sector is facing ‘two difficult years’. Also Amazon plans to cut staff here 18,000 employees will lose their jobs. Facebook parent company Meta already announced last year that 11,000 jobs will be cut.
