Sam Amico
Already, 2023 has turned into a troubling year for big tech. The latest example comes with the announcement that Google has laid off 12,000 employees, or about 6 percent of its workforce. Google CEO Sundar Pichai made the announcement in a company email sent Friday.
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“Googlers, I have some difficult news to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles,” the note began. “We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.
Google Announces 12,000 Job Cuts
“This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. 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.”
Google joins the likes of Microsoft, Salesforce and Amazon as major tech companies that have undergone massive layoffs since the start of the year. Recession fears are generally cited as the primary reason. Also, digital spending and ad revenue are both said to be down.
Pichai said that those impacted by the layoffs in the U.S. will continue to be paid for 60 days and that all impacted will receive severance pay of at least 16 weeks.
Layoffs Continue
In all, it’s been estimated that nearly 48,000 big tech employees have been laid off just since Jan. 1. This is in addition to the 4,400 laid off by Twitter late last year –but that is small potatoes compared to the rest.
In most cases, CEOs have taken the blame for overspending and trying to grow their companies too fast. “I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here,” Pichai wrote.
