By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Tech giant, Google on Friday announced the lay-off of 12,000 workers, a major staff trim which it says is a “difficult decision.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced this in an email to staff that was also posted on the company’s news blog.
“I have some difficult news to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. 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,” his mail read.
He said he is “deeply sorry” to say “goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with.”
“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.”
He said the company has seen periods of dramatic growth in the past two years, and to match and fuel that growth, Google hired for a different economic reality than today.
“I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI. To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices. So, we’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.”
He thanked those who have been asked to leaves saying their contributions have been invaluable and the company is grateful for them.
He said those who are getting laid off in the US will get paid for the full notification period of 60 days, severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google, 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time, six months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support for those affected.
Outside the US, the company will support employees in line with local practices.
“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,” he said.
