Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is reportedly downsizing its global recruiting team by eliminating hundreds of positions as it slows down hiring. This reduction in force is not a large-scale layoff, and Alphabet intends to retain most of the team to focus on recruiting for critical roles.
The company is assisting affected employees in finding new opportunities, both within and outside the organization. Alphabet’s move makes it the first major tech firm to initiate layoffs in the current quarter, following similar actions by industry peers like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon earlier in 2023. In January, Alphabet had already reduced its workforce by approximately 12,000 employees, accounting for about 6% of its global workforce.
Speaking about the headcount during the second-quarter earnings call, Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet and Google, said, “We continue to slow our expense growth and pace of hiring and ensure our teams are aligned to our highest priorities.”
As of June 30, 2023, Alphabet employed a total of 181,798 individuals. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, noted during the second-quarter earnings call that they were slowing expense growth, reducing hiring speed, and aligning teams with their highest priorities while simultaneously increasing investments in artificial intelligence.
