According to Reuters, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is planning to lay off a significant number of employees, with the number reported to be around 12,000 across a wide range of divisions. The layoffs will reportedly take effect immediately, with employees from all regions in which Google operates, including the United States, being affected.
The layoffs will involve a variety of sectors and departments, including recruitment, and corporate teams. As well as Google’s engineering and product divisions. However, it is currently unclear if employees from the recently shut down. Stadia cloud-gaming projects are included in the total tally for the layoffs.
In a memo reportedly written by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, he stated,
“The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.”
The affected employees in the United States have already been notified of the cuts. While Google will take more time to laying off staff in another region due to different legislation and bureaucracy.
These cuts come at a time of economic uncertainty and looming recession in the United States. Other technological giants such as Microsoft are also laying off several thousand employees across their divisions. This move is likely a response to the current economic climate and the need to cut costs and streamline operations.
