The US is set to enter a recession starting in the first quarter of 2023, according to Bank of America economists. Coming out of the gates of 2023, tech companies have taken this lead and announced significant job cuts. On Wednesday, Amazon announced cuts of up to 18,000, followed by Microsoft’s 10,000 cuts. Tech companies have cut 60,000 of his jobs since November 2022, but that doesn’t include his 3,700 job cuts at Twitter and today’s massive job cuts at Google. His CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, sent a note this morning that dropped the hammer. Pichai has announced that he will cut 12,000 employees from his US workforce. Below is the full text of Pichai’s memo.
google employee,
I have hard news to share. We have decided to reduce our workforce by about 12,000. We have already sent another email to affected US employees. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.
This means we are saying goodbye to the incredibly talented people we have worked so hard to employ and have loved working with. The fact that these changes affect the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me and I take full responsibility for the decisions that have brought us here.
Over the past two years, we have seen a period of dramatic growth. To keep pace with that growth, we have adapted for economic realities that differ from those we are currently facing.
We believe there is a great opportunity ahead of us because of the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI. To fully capture it, you have to make a difficult choice. That’s why we undertook a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our top corporate priorities. The roles you remove reflect the results of that review. Across alphabets, product areas, features, levels and geographies.
Retiring Googlers: Thank you for all you do to help people and businesses around the world. Your contributions are invaluable and we appreciate them.
This transition won’t be easy, but it will support employees looking for their next opportunity.
In the United States:
- Pay employees during the notice period (minimum 60 days).
- We also offer a severance package of 2 weeks each year at Google in addition to 16 weeks of salary, accelerating your GSU vesting by at least 16 weeks.
- I will pay my bonus for 2022 and my remaining paid vacation.
- For those affected, we will provide six months of health care, employment services and immigration support.
- Outside the United States, we support our employees in line with local practices.
As a company nearly 25 years old, we are going through a difficult economic cycle. These are critical times to increase focus, rebuild our cost base, and direct people and capital to our top priorities.
Constraints in some areas allow you to bet big in others. Our AI-first transformation of the company a few years ago was a breakthrough for our business and the industry at large.
Thanks to these early investments, Google’s products are better than ever. We are also preparing to share an all-new experience for users, developers, and businesses. We have a huge opportunity in front of us to use AI across our products, and we are ready to tackle it boldly and responsibly.
All this work is a continuation of the “healthy ignorance of the impossible” mentality that has been core to our culture from the beginning. If you look around Google today, you can see that same spirit and energy driving what we do. That’s why I remain optimistic about our ability to fulfill our mission, even in the most difficult days. Today is certainly one of them.
I think there are many questions about how we move forward. We will have a Town Hall on Monday. Check the calendar for details. Until then, take great care as you absorb this difficult news. As part of this, if you have just started working, feel free to start working from home today.
-thunder
Regarding Apple layoffs, CNBC reported Wednesday that Apple has been an exception so far. The report said, “Apple has grown much slower during the pandemic. In fact, Apple’s employment over the last few years has followed the same general trend since 2016.
As of September 2022, Apple has 164,000 employees, including both corporate employees and retail staff in stores. However, this is only a 6.5% increase from the same period in 2021, equivalent to real growth of 10,000 employees. Apple also hired cautiously in 2020, and in his year to September 2021 he added less than 7,000 employees.
Apple’s Q1 2023 earnings conference call will be held on February 2 at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET. At this time, we don’t know if Apple will announce layoffs.