Google workers in the UK and Ireland face uncertainty after parent company Alphabet announced it would cut 12,000 jobs globally.
silicon valley giant It has more than 5,000 employees in the two countries, but the company would not say how the mass layoffs will affect them.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai broke the “bad news” about the layoffs — about 6% of the workforce — in an email to employees on Friday, also posted on the company’s news blog.
The company had hired for a “period of dramatic growth” over the past two years, but that was a situation “different from the economic reality we face today,” he said.
Layoffs come days after rivals Microsoft It said it would lay off 10,000 employees, nearly 5% of its workforce.
Facebook Parent company Meta is cutting 11,000 posts, while amazon 18,000 jobs are being cut.
Alphabet’s layoffs affect teams across the company, including recruiting and some corporate functions, as well as some engineering and product teams.
The tech giant’s London offices
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Regarding the decision to lay off staff, Mr. Pichai told employees: “This will mean saying goodbye to some very talented people that we have worked so hard to hire and have enjoyed working with. I am 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 brought us here.
“We’ve seen periods of dramatic growth over the past two years. To match and drive that growth, we’ve hired for a different economic reality than we’re facing today.”
“difficult choice”
He added: “Because of the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in artificial intelligence, I am confident in the tremendous opportunity that lies ahead of us.
“To fully grasp it, we needed to make tough choices. As a result, we undertook a critical review of our product areas and functions to ensure our people and roles were aligned with our highest priorities as a company.
“The roles we are eliminating reflect the results of the review. They span Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and geographies.
“To the Googlers who have left us: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses around the world. Your contributions are priceless and we appreciate it.
“While this transition will not be easy, we will support our employees as they look for their next opportunity.”