Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, announced on January 20 that it is cutting 12,000 employees, or 6% of its workforce, as Silicon Valley struggles to recover from recent layoffs and an uncertain future.
Alphabet is making the cuts as it deals with a threat to its long-held position atop the technology industry, as evidenced by the rise of 3% in its shares in premarket trade.
For many years, Alphabet has attracted elite talent to create companies like Google, YouTube, and others that are used by billions of people. However, it is currently in a competitive battle with Microsoft Corp. in the emerging field of generative artificial intelligence.
A few days prior, Microsoft announced it would be letting go of 10,000 employees.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, informed colleagues in a memo that the company has examined its priorities, products, and workforce, which resulted in job losses across all industries and geographies. Although it had quickly grown in anticipation of better times, it suddenly confronted a different economic reality.
Teams across the organization, including recruiting, various corporate operations, as well as some technical and product teams, are impacted by job losses at Alphabet.
U.S. employees are immediately affected by the worldwide cutbacks.
The procedure will take longer in other countries due to local employment rules and norms, the message stated, but Alphabet has already emailed affected employees in those countries.
The announcement comes at a time when both economic and technological potential is present.
News Mania Desk
