Google joins tech industry downturn

Google said Friday it will lay off 12,000 workers, accounting for about 6% of its workforce.

CEO Sundar Pichai, who also leads Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said the job cuts were needed to keep pace with the current economic downturn and would affect employees across the company.

Google hired thousands of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic as the tech industry grew.

How is the tech industry responding to economic pressure? Just this month, at least 48,000 jobs were cut in the technology sector.

Microsoft last week laid off 10,000 employees, Amazon said it would cut 18,000 jobs, and Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—said it would shed 13% of its workforce by eliminating 11,000 positions. 

This story originally appeared in WORLD. © 2023, reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.