‘Sorry’: Sundar Pichai’s message after firing more than 12,000 people from Google

Google more than 12,000 people were laid off from payroll this week, in one of the biggest job cuts in the tech industry.

The person responsible for reporting the news was Sundar Pichaiwho wrote a lengthy memo to the entire payroll, which can be read below.

Google message fired

The document has been received CNBC and reflects the words of the CEO of Alphabet, the matrix in which the giant is included.

googlers,

I have some difficult news to share. We have made the decision to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 positions. 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.

This will mean farewell to some of the incredibly talented people we have worked hard to hire and have enjoyed working with. I deeply regret this. The fact that these changes will affect the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that brought us here.

In the past two years, we have seen periods of impressive growth. To match and fuel this growth, we have contracted for a different economic reality from the one we face today.

I am confident that there are great opportunities ahead of us because of the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI. To fully capture it, we will have to make difficult decisions. Therefore, we have conducted a thorough review of all areas of the product and features to ensure that our people and roles are in line with our top priorities as a company. The roles we remove reflect the results of this check. They cover Alphabet, product areas, features, tiers and regions.

To outgoing Google employees: Thank you for your hard work helping people and businesses around the world. Their contribution was invaluable, and we are grateful to them for that.

While this transition will not be easy, we will support employees as they look for the next opportunity.

IN THE USA:

• We will pay employees for the entire notice period (minimum 60 days)
• We will also offer a severance pay starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for each additional year at Google, and accelerate at least the 16-week GSU acquisition period.
• We will pay bonuses for 2022 and the rest of the vacation
• We will offer 6 months of medical care, employment services and immigration support for those affected.
• Outside the US, we will support employees in accordance with local customs.

As a company with almost 25 years of history, we will definitely go through difficult economic cycles. This is an important time to sharpen our focus, change our cost base and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities.

Limited in some areas allows us to bet big in others. For the first time a few years ago, the transition of the enterprise to AI led to innovative breakthroughs in our business and throughout the industry.

Thanks to these early investments, Google products are better than ever. And we’re getting ready to share some brand new features for users, developers, and businesses. There are great opportunities ahead of us with the use of AI in all our products, and we are ready to take this issue boldly and responsibly.

All this work is an extension of the “healthy contempt for the impossible” that has been at the heart of our culture from the very beginning. When I look at Google today, I see the same spirit and energy that drives our efforts. That is why I remain optimistic about our ability to carry out our mission even in the most difficult days. Today is definitely one of them.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions about how we’re going to move forward. On Monday we will host the town hall. Check your calendar for more details. Until then, take care of yourself while you digest this bad news. As part of that, if you’re just starting your day at work, feel free to work from home today.

Tough times for technology

Tech companies are facing a host of challenges right now, including rising interest rates and inflation over the past year that have hit tech stocks and forced advertisers to slash online ad spending.

Amazon, for example, laid off 18,000 employees. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, did the same with 11,000 people.

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