Report: Google to lay off up to 12,000 employees with immediate effect

A new report from Reuters suggests that Google’s parent company Alphabet is set to lay off around 12,000 employees with immediate effect.

According to an internal staff memo seen by Reuters, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the firm is set to cut around 12,000 jobs across various sectors and business areas. This move comes shortly after Microsoft announced similar layoffs, but Google is set to lay off employees in selected regions such as the US with immediate effect per this report.

It is said that lay offs will come from areas including recruitment, corporate teams, and will also include various engineering and product sectors within Google. The memo is also said to note that US staff will be impacted immediately, with global layoffs also in the pipeline.

In the memo, Sundar Pichai highlighted Google’s “investments in AI” and the “value” of the firm’s “products and services.”

What isn’t clear is what areas Google will trim the most. The recent shuttering of cloud-gaming service Stadia could see staffing numbers included within these figures. Many high-profile staff behind the service —such as Phil Harrison — are still listed with the tech giant. However, this is expected to change over the coming months.

Google’s Q3 earnings report saw revenues jump 6% in Q3 2022, but this was lower than initial estimates. This was the weakest period of growth for the company since 2013 which saw profits dip almost 30% year-over-year to $17.35 billion for Q3 2022.

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