New Delhi: Thousands of Google employees affected by the recently announced layoffs by the global search engine giant have taken to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to express their anger, frustration and shock at the company’s move to lay them off amid the global economic crisis. Recession. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently announced in an email to his employees that the company will cut 12,000 jobs worldwide. In his email to employees, the Indian-origin CEO said, “I have some difficult news to share. We have decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles.”
Google’s CEO also said that he was “deeply sorry for this step” and took full responsibility for the decisions that led the company to this position. With the move, Google becomes the latest tech giant after Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon to lay off employees amid fears of a global recession.
Pichai said the layoffs at Google came after a “rigorous review” of its operations. Jobs are being eliminated, cuts are being made across alphabets, product areas, functions, levels and regions, he said.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen a period of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we’ve hired for a different economic reality than we have today,” Pichai said in his mail. Company news blog.
However, this didn’t go over well with some tech leaders and affected employees, who said that if Pichai was responsible for the decisions, “why shouldn’t he be fired in the first place.” Expressing similar concerns, Vishal Singh, director of engineering at YourDOS, asked, “Why should Sundar Pichai stay at Google? If he made the wrong bets, he should pay for it.”
Singh said the board should first sack Pichai and Microsoft should do the same with Satya Nadella, who is also being blamed for cutting 10,000 jobs at the company. Taking his point further, Singh said that “even politicians are expected to resign after screwing up”.
“People at the top of the policy-making process must also be held accountable for their wrong decisions, they can’t get away with sending letters explaining the consequences of their difficult decisions. Pulkit Pahwa, a program manager at Google who is among the thousands who have been laid off, is surprised by the decision, saying he and other employees feared it was coming, but avoided thinking it was coming. Granted that “Google would” not do it, but they did.
Not only the Google employees, who have been sacked, the Alphabet Workers’ Union (AWU) also criticized the company’s move, saying it was unacceptable behavior for a company that made a profit of USD 17 billion in the last quarter alone. Alphabet is the parent company of Google.
While Alphabet’s leadership claims “full responsibility,” it is of little comfort to the 12,000 workers who are now without jobs. This is unacceptable behavior for a company that made $17 billion in profit just last quarter.https://t.co/bIsvMjKp6h– Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA) (@AlphabetWorkers) January 20, 2023
The union said workers had never been able to rely on Alphabet for secure employment – evidenced by the vast subcontracted workforce – but it was increasingly clear that tech workers needed to unionize with workers to protect their livelihoods. Form a majority and compel employers to bargain effectively.
Workers have never been able to rely on Alphabet for secure employment – evidenced by the vast subcontracted workforce – but it is abundantly clear that tech workers need to collectively bargain with workers to protect their livelihoods. Headlines must be made and employers must be compelled. – Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA) (@AlphabetWorkers) January 20, 2023
“It’s appalling that our jobs are first on the chopping block, so shareholders may see a few more points off the charts next quarter,” the union said. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced 10,000 job cuts, or about 5 percent of its workforce. Amazon is also cutting 18,000 jobs and Facebook parent Meta is reducing 11,000 positions.
It’s appalling that our jobs are first on the chopping block, so shareholders may see a few more points off the charts next quarter.
Today confirms once again that tech workers are workers—and we must organize in a big way to protect ourselves on the job. – Alphabet Workers Union (AWU-CWA) (@AlphabetWorkers) January 20, 2023
Importantly, a day before Google’s announcement, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that his company would lay off less than five percent of its total workforce, as the technology giant aligns its cost structure with revenue and customer demand. Is.
The bloodshed that started last year in the tech sector continues till 2023. Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, laid off more than 11,000 employees or about 13 per cent of its workforce in November last year.