Read the memo Google CEO sent to employees announcing 12,000 layoffs

Google announced Friday that it would be reducing 12,000 jobs from its workforce, joining a number of other significant U.S. tech businesses in eliminating positions due to recessionary concerns.

The CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, announced Friday that the business would start making layoffs in the United States right away. He says the procedure in other nations “will take longer due to local laws and procedures.” In November, it was revealed that Google staff members had been anticipating layoffs due to the company’s competitors’ budget cuts and adjustments to its performance evaluation process.

According to Pichai, the web search and video-sharing giant would give employees in the United States 16 weeks of severance compensation in addition to two weeks for each subsequent year of employment.

Following the news, Google’s stock increased by more than 5%. Tech companies are currently dealing with a number of difficulties, not the least of which are the recent increases in interest rates and inflation that have decimated technology shares and compelled advertisers to reduce online advertising spending.

The demand for American tech shares has decreased due to interest rate increases, particularly from the U.S. Federal Reserve. These businesses have been under increased pressure to make significant personnel reductions due to the dark macroeconomic environment.

Amazon started a new round of layoffs on Wednesday that will affect more than 18,000 individuals. Microsoft announced plans to fire 10,000 employees the same day. Elon Musk, who took over as CEO of Twitter in October, has likewise announced layoffs, reducing the company’s headcount by more than half.

Following the news on Thursday that the company was delaying a portion of employees’ year-end bonus checks until March or April rather than paying them in full in January, Google announced its decision to lay off workers on Friday.

Read the entire note that Pichai on Friday distributed to staff:

Googlers,

I have some devastating news to share. We’ve made the decision to cut 12,000 roles from our staff. To those affected employees in the US, we have already sent a separate email. Due to regional laws and customs, this process will take longer in other nations.

This will require bidding farewell to some extraordinarily excellent individuals we worked arduously to hire and have enjoyed working with. I apologize profusely for that. I bear full responsibility for the choices we made because I am really concerned about how these changes will affect Googlers’ lives. Periods of tremendous growth have been observed over the past two years. We hired for a different economic reality than the one we currently face in order to meet and fuel that development.

Because of the strength of our mission, the value of our goods and services, and our early investments in AI, I am optimistic about the enormous opportunity that lies ahead of us. We’ll need to make hard decisions if we want to completely capture it. In order to make sure that our employees and their jobs are in line with our company’s top priorities, we have conducted a thorough evaluation of all relevant product areas and functions. The roles we’re getting rid of are a result of that evaluation. They cross all locations, product categories, functions, and levels. Thank you for working so hard to support people and businesses all throughout the world, Googlers leaving us. We appreciate your contributions because they were quite helpful.

We will support employees while they hunt for their next opportunity, despite the fact that this transfer won’t be simple.

In the USA: Employees will be paid for the whole notice period (minimum 60 days).

Additionally, we’ll accelerate the vesting of at least 16 weeks of GSU’s and provide a severance compensation starting at 16 weeks of salary plus two weeks for each subsequent year spent working for Google.

Bonuses for 2022 and unused holiday time will be paid.

For individuals impacted, we will provide six months of medical treatment, assistance with finding a job, and immigration support.

We will help employees outside of the US in accordance with regional customs.

We are almost 25 years old, therefore we will inevitably have challenging economic cycles. These are crucial times to narrow our focus, redesign our cost structure, and focus our resources—talent and money—on our top goals.

We can place large bets in some areas while being limited in others. Our businesses and the entire industry have made ground-breaking progress as a result of the company’s pivot to be AI-first years ago. These early investments allowed Google to produce better goods than ever before. Additionally, we’re getting ready to share some completely brand-new experiences with users, developers, and companies. With AI, we have a significant opportunity before us across all of our products, and we’re ready to pursue it bravely and ethically.

All of this effort is a continuation of our culture’s “healthy contempt for the impossibility” that has existed since its inception. I can still see that same spirit and energy at work when I look around Google now. That is why, even on our worst days, I am confident in our capacity to complete our mission. Unquestionably, today is one of those.

You undoubtedly have a lot of inquiries concerning our future plans. On Monday, we’ll host a town hall. For further information, check your calendar. Please take good care of yourselves while you process this upsetting news till then. As part of that, feel free to work from home today if you have just begun your workday.

– Sundar