Google-parent Alphabet to cut 12K jobs from global workforce
Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, said Friday that it will cut about 12,000 jobs from its global workforce, affecting approximately 6% of the company's employees, ABC News reported.
"I have some difficult news to share," Google's CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in an email to Google employees on Friday morning. "We've decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles ... 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."
Employees who are being laid off in the United States will be paid during the notification period -- a minimum of 60 days -- and will also receive a severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year they spent at Google.
Google also said that they would pay out the 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time to the employees that are being laid off as well as "six months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected."
"As an almost 25-year-old company, we're bound to go through difficult economic cycles. These are important moments to sharpen our focus, reengineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities," Pichai said. "Being constrained in some areas allows us to bet big on others. Pivoting the company to be AI-first years ago led to groundbreaking advances across our businesses and the whole industry."
Pichai said that in spite of the layoffs, Google is "getting ready to share some entirely new experiences for users, developers and businesses."
"Google's products are better than ever," he wrote. "We have a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products and are prepared to approach it boldly and responsibly."
Impacts in North Carolina
Google's footprint is scheduled to be expanding in the Tar Heel state. The company announced in spring 2021 that Durham would be home to one of Google's top five engineering hubs in the country.
Google has not commented on how these layoffs could affect the plans for North Carolina's hub.
University of North Carolina's Chief Economist Gerald Cohen said the layoffs are concerning.
"Given these challenges, (Google's commitment to North Carolina is) what could change and that's what worries me the most," Cohen said.
