In a recent all-hands meeting, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the significant layoffs the company implemented in 2022, providing insights into the decision-making process and acknowledging the impact on morale. The layoffs, amounting to 12,000 job cuts and representing 6% of Alphabet’s workforce, were characterized by Pichai as a necessary step to navigate economic shifts and position the company for future growth.
During the meeting, Pichai defended the decision, highlighting that delaying the layoffs would have hindered the company’s ability to adapt and invest in critical areas. Despite acknowledging the toll on affected employees, he emphasized the need to act promptly to avoid creating a more challenging situation for the company in the future.
A Business Insider report, citing obtained audio from the meeting, revealed Pichai’s response to an employee’s question about the impact of the layoffs on growth, profit and loss (P&L), and morale. Pichai admitted that the job cuts had a “clear, big impact on morale,” evident in comments on Googlegeist and employee feedback.
Addressing the difficulty of the decision, Pichai noted, “This is difficult for any company to go through. At Google, we really haven’t had a moment quite like that in 25 years.” He further emphasized that the decision became necessary to prevent a more significant overhang for the company, especially considering the major shifts occurring globally.
Pichai explained that not taking action would have made it challenging to create the capacity to invest in crucial areas amid a rapidly changing world. He acknowledged the difficulty of immediately cutting off access to laid-off employees’ work accounts, describing it as “a very, very difficult decision.”
The transparency in discussing the layoffs and their repercussions reflects Google’s commitment to addressing the challenges faced by the workforce during a period of significant organizational change.
