Google joins tech industry downturn, cutting 12,000 jobs

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Google announced it will cut 12,000 jobs. Associated Press/Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez

Google joins tech industry downturn, cutting 12,000 jobs

Google said Friday it will lay off 12,000 workers, accounting for about 6 percent 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 percent of its workforce by eliminating 11,000 positions.

Dig deeper: Read Jerry Bowyer’s column in WORLD Opinions about how investors still give the U.S. economy a no-confidence vote for 2023.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.