A memo from CEO Sundar Pichai said Google would lay off 12,000 people

The Google On Friday, it said it would lay off 12,000 people from its workforce, adding to a slew of major US tech companies that will cut jobs amid fears of an upcoming recession.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email sent to company employees on Friday that the company will begin laying off workers in the United States immediately. In other countries, he said, the process “will take longer due to local laws and practices.”

Pichai added that the web search and video-sharing giant will offer US-based employees 16 weeks of severance pay plus two weeks for each additional year they worked at Google.

Tech companies are facing a variety of challenges right now, not the least of which is rising interest rates and inflation over the past year that have dented tech shares and forced advertisers to cut back on online ad spending.

Interest rate increases from the US Federal Reserve in particular have dampened appetite for US technology stocks. The gloomy macroeconomic climate, in turn, has increased pressure on these companies to make deep workforce cuts.

On Wednesday, Amazon began creating a A new wave of job cuts It affects more than 18,000 people. On the same day, Microsoft announced plans for lay off 10,000 workers.

Twitter, led by Elon MuskHe also made redundancies, cutting more than half of the company’s staff since taking over as CEO late last year.

The Google Friday layoff move comes next CNBC reported Wednesday that the company was deferring part of its year-end bonus checks to employees until March or April instead of January.

Read the full memo Pichai sent to staff on Friday:

Google employees

I have some hard news to share. We have decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 jobs. We have already sent a separate email to affected employees in the US. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.

It means saying goodbye to some of the talented people we worked so hard to recruit and loved working with. I am deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will affect the lives of Google employees weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that have led us here.

Over the past two years, we’ve seen periods of explosive growth. To keep pace with and support this growth, we have set an economic reality different from the one we face today.

I am confident of the tremendous opportunity ahead given 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. Therefore, we have conducted a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles align with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we remove reflect the outcome of that review. It cuts across the alphabet, product domains, functions, levels, and regions.

To the Googlers leaving us: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses everywhere. Your contributions have been invaluable for which we are grateful.

Although this transition will not be easy, we will support staff as they look for their next opportunity.

in the United States:

• We will pay employees within the full notice period (at least 60 days).
• We will also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks’ salary plus 2 weeks for each additional year at Google, and accelerate GSU accrual by at least 16 weeks.
• We will pay 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time.
• We will provide 6 months of health care, employment services, and immigration support to those affected.
• Outside the United States, we will support employees in line with local practices.

As a nearly 25-year-old company, we’re bound to navigate tough economic cycles. These are important moments for sharpening our focus, re-engineering our cost base, and directing our talent and capital toward our highest priorities.

Being restricted in some areas allows us to bet big in others. Pivoting the company to becoming AI from the early years has led to groundbreaking developments across our business and the entire industry.

Thanks to those early investments, Google’s products are better than ever. And we’re getting ready to share some brand new experiences for users, developers, and businesses too. We have a huge opportunity ahead of us with AI across our products and we are ready to tackle it boldly and responsibly.

All of this work is a continuation of the “healthy disregard for the impossible” that has been at the core of our culture since the beginning. When I look around Google today, I see the same spirit and energy driving our efforts. That is why I remain optimistic about our ability to fulfill our mission, even on our toughest days. Today is definitely one of them.

I’m sure you have many questions about how to proceed. We will organize the town hall on Monday. Check your calendar for details. Until then, please take good care of yourselves as you digest this difficult news. As part of that, if you’re just starting your work day, feel free to work from home today.

-Sundar