Red alert continues: Google announces it will lay off 12,000 jobs

The turmoil in technology companies does not stop. Google and its parent company Alphabet, which have not started mass layoffs so far, announced that they will make a massive cut in their workforce. The statement came by the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, and it was announced that Google will lay off 12,000 people. Thus, the total number of people laid off by the largest technology companies rose to 72 thousand.

Google lays off 12,000 jobs

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced in a blog post that he will part ways with approximately 12,000 people. After the layoffs, Google’s total workforce is expected to decrease by 6 percent. Additionally, earlier this month, Google’s parent company Alphabet announced the layoffs of approximately 230 jobs at its healthcare-focused subsidiary Verily and Intrinsic, a subsidiary that develops software for industrial robots.

Google will focus on artificial intelligence

In his blog post, Pichai notes that the layoffs are important to sharpening the company’s focus. The statement also highlights the company’s cost structuring and prioritization of talent and capital. “I am confident of the great opportunity ahead, thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our initial investments in AI,” Pichai said. Therefore, we can say that Google will direct all its focus to the development of artificial intelligence.

Although Google made early strides in artificial intelligence, with investments such as the acquisition of research-oriented artificial intelligence laboratory DeepMind in 2014, it lagged behind the ChatGPT products of competitors such as OpenAI. Moreover, OpenAI has formed a deep partnership with Google’s rival Microsoft, and Microsoft has promised to integrate its artificial intelligence technology into products such as search, cloud and office software.

Google will support layoffs

Google reported revenue of $69 billion and profit of $13.9 billion in October last year. Although these figures indicated an increase in the income level compared to the previous year, they also revealed that the profitability decreased.

Google has already started notifying employees that will be laid off. The firm will continue to pay affected employees for a minimum of 60 days. The 2022 bonus and the remaining vacation pay will be paid to those who have been laid off. In addition, the affected employees will be covered for 6 months of health care. In addition, support will be provided to those who have been laid off to find new jobs.