Date:
September 14, 2023
Google has resurfaced in the job cut spotlight after announcing a significant reduction in its recruitment organization’s workforce.
Even tech giants like Google are not immune to the global economic slowdown. Google has recently announced its latest round of job cuts as part of a broader pullback in hiring over the next several quarters. This time, the workforce facing this reduction will be from its recruitment organization.
The company did not reveal the exact number of people it will be laying off from its recruiting workforce. It also slowed the hiring process amid last year’s global economic slowdown. Brian Ong, Google’s VP of Recruitment, reportedly announced to its employees in a video meeting, “We unfortunately need to make a significant reduction to the size of the recruiting organisation. It’s not something that was an easy decision to make, and it definitely isn’t a conversation any of us wanted to have again this year. Given the base of hiring that we’ve received the next several quarters, it’s the right thing to do overall.”
Ong said the employees being laid off will start receiving the related communication over Emails from September 13th onwards. But this time, they will let the employees retain access to the office space for a week. They will be able to access the online system even later. This step comes as Google’s effort to create a better exit for its employees, unlike the earlier layoff in January. Earlier, Google instantly cut off access to the offices and online technology, which most of its employees criticized as a shockingly abrupt shutoff.
In January, Google announced 12,000 job cuts, which sums up to 6% of its global full-time workforce. The earlier layoff included the recruitment organization, which again came into the fire zone this month. Google India has also reportedly terminated more than 400 employees this year.
Cutting Down On Expenses
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet Inc., announced that the entire company is looking for ways to reduce expense growth and the pace of hiring. In its quest to cut costs, the company has even asked its work-from-office employees to share their desks with a partner. One internal employee communication revealed that the company is stopping multiple benefits including workout classes and free snacks. It also discontinued the allowance for personal equipment like laptops. All of these measures will surely impact Alphabet Inc.’s reputation as an employer, but the bigger picture the company is looking at is necessitating these harsh measures to maintain long-term sustainability.
