Google’s parent company Alphabet announced that it will cut about 12000 jobs, which constitutes roughly 6% of its entire workforce. Similar news came from rival Microsoft Corp this week, as the giant decided to lay off 10,000 workers. 

This marks a shift in the technological sector, as it comes in a period of economic uncertainty are both giants have been investing in generative artificial intelligence. 

Also Read| Why is Microsoft laying off over 10,000 employees?

Google’s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai issued an email to the employees of the company, saying that the company had “undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company.”

Here is what the email read: 

“I have some difficult news to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.

This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.

Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.

I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AL.

To fully capture K, we’ll need to make tough choices. So, we’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.

To the Googlers who are leaving us: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses everywhere. Your contributions have been invaluable and we are grateful for them.

While this transition won’t be easy, we’re going to support employees as they look for their next opportunity (you can find more details here)”

Pichai took over as Alphabet’s CEO in 2019.