(RTTNews) – Several big tech companies have announced mass layoffs as rising inflation and uncertain macroeconomic conditions fuel recession fears, but search giant Google ‘s parent company, Alphabet Inc., avoids this undesirable situation. The tech giant has yet to announce any major layoffs despite several reports of internal job cuts.
But Alphabet employees haven’t been immune to this industry-wide layoff for too long. Google employees are reportedly anticipating the imminent announcement of major layoffs.
In November, The Information reported that Alphabet plans to lay off nearly 10,000 low-performing employees starting in early 2023 to keep costs down.
A downturn in the advertising market is weighing on Google’s revenues, prompting investors to push the company to find ways to cut costs. Alphabet’s management appears to be more focused on reducing project costs and making the company more efficient.
Employees are also noticing changes in performance reviews and reduced travel budgets, alluding to possible headcount reductions.
The tech giant asked managers to identify 6% of its staff using a new performance management system, according to the report. This equates to about 10,000 people. This new system has helped managers identify underperforming employees and kick out thousands of bottom-performing employees. Ratings can also be used by managers to avoid paying bonuses or stock grants to employees.
In July, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai launched a “Simplicity Sprint” to increase efficiency in an uncertain economic environment.
Meanwhile, people already think big job cuts are on the horizon, as Verily, one of Google’s sister companies specializing in health sciences, cut 240 jobs last week. Intrinsic, an industrial robotics company founded in July 2021, is also laying off about 40 employees, or his 20% of its workforce.
At the project level, the company canceled its next-generation Pixelbook laptop, cut funding for its Area 120 in-house incubator, and also closed digital gaming service Stadia.
As of September 20, 2022, Alphabet has 186,779 employees.
Nearly every major technology company, including Amazon, Meta, Twitter, and Microsoft, recently announced job cuts or hiring freezes.
In early January, Amazon announced plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs, citing economic uncertainty. This reduction is expected to primarily impact Amazon Stores and People, Experience, and Technology or multiple teams within the PXT organization.
Cloud-based software company Salesforce.com Inc. also announced a restructuring plan that includes about 10% headcount reduction, aimed at reducing operating costs and improving operating margins.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., planned to lay off more than 13% of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees.
Elon Musk’s Twitter laid off more than half of its employees just days after its $44 billion acquisition, but the process is still ongoing.
Bloomberg reported that chip maker Intel had planned to cut thousands of jobs amid a slowdown in the personal computer market.
In mid-October, Microsoft announced layoffs across multiple divisions, affecting less than 1,000 people, Axios reported, citing sources.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.