Google is laying off 12,000 employees, 6% of its current global workforce

CEO Sundar Pichai said in an employee memo that the cuts were made to “bet on a different future than the one we worked towards.” <br><br>He also said: “As I consider these changes, I have a deep regard for the employees being laid off. Google opened its first office in Kirkland, WA almost 20 years ago. That was the start of a long and important journey for the company. I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us to act on our mission and, truly, change the world.”<br><br>About 6% of its global workforce will be affected, as part of a plan to cut costs. It’s the latest Big Tech firm to make staff cuts as the sector sees a downturn following a boom during the pandemic. <br><br>Google said it would pay those leaving a 16 weeks base severance package plus two weeks for every year they have spent at Google, with no end date and full vesting of stock. It did not specify which areas of the business are most affected.<br><br>The company’s parent company Alphabet has not commented on the cost of making redundancies. While Microsoft and Amazon are thought to have made redundancies to cut wasteful spending, Google has traditionally been seen as more parsimonious than some other Big Tech firms. It has been through a huge period of growth, doubling headcount. This is the company's largest ever round of layoffs.<br><br>Google is cutting jobs in a bid to cut costs. It is the latest tech company to do so, following Microsoft, which cut 10,000 jobs, Amazon which cut 18,000, and Salesforce which cut 8,000.