Alphabet, Google's Parent Company, Announces Layoffs Affecting 'Hundreds' in Global Recruitment Team

Alphabet, Google's Parent Company, Announces Select Layoffs in Global Recruiting Team Amid Hiring Slowdown

14-09-2023 New Delhi - Alphabet, the parent company of Google, revealed on Wednesday that it would be making staff reductions within its global recruiting team as part of its ongoing effort to curtail hiring. This decision, affecting a few hundred employees, is distinct from a large-scale layoff and is primarily aimed at retaining the majority of the team for the recruitment of critical positions. Alphabet is also actively assisting affected employees in finding new roles both within the company and elsewhere.

Among the major players in the tech industry, Alphabet is the first "Big Tech" company to initiate layoffs in this quarter. In contrast, earlier in 2023, companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon had significantly downsized their workforces, concluding their pandemic-induced hiring surges due to the challenges posed by the weakened economy.

In January, Alphabet, headquartered in California, had already made notable job cuts, eliminating approximately 12,000 positions, which corresponded to a 6% reduction in its overall workforce.

The labor market in the United States has witnessed a substantial increase in layoffs, with figures in August exceeding those in July by more than threefold and nearly quadrupling in comparison to the previous year. A report by employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas highlighted this trend.

Economists, as surveyed by Reuters, had anticipated an approximate 8% rise in new claims for state unemployment benefits during the week ending September 9th. This projection followed a decline of 13,000 claims to 216,000 in the preceding seven-day period.