With its plans to release 6% of its global workforce by the end of 2017, which is equivalent to approximately 12,000 employees, Google is following in the footsteps of Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta in making significant rounds of layoffs.

There are many people who will be affected by this layoff despite the fact that it is not disproportionately larger than that of rival companies. Compared to Amazon, which laid off 6% of its workforce, a total of 18,000 people in total, the number of layoffs was higher. There was a 5% layoff at Microsoft, which equates to 10,000 jobs, and there was a 13% layoff at Meta, which translates to 11,000 jobs.

The technology industry is prepared to face an economic downturn and, as a result, is looking for ways to reduce costs in order to survive, and layoffs are one of the grim options available to them. After Elon Musk took the helm of Twitter, the company also laid off thousands of employees soon after he took the helm.

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The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, made an official statement in which he emphasized the importance of increasing the focus and work output of the remaining staff with a sense of urgency in order to meet the company’s goals.

Also, he announced that the company will be increasing its efforts to develop AI-related services in order to compete with rival companies that are working on similar projects in order to remain competitive. In spite of Google’s revenue reaching $69 billion this year, its profits have decreased to $13.9 billion, which is a decline of nearly 20 percent. Considering the expected economic challenges in 2023, the company is taking proactive steps to address the situation in advance of these challenges.

In response to the company’s announcement of layoffs, Google President Sundar Pichai has given employees the option to work from home. He said:

Please take good care of yourselves as you absorb this difficult news. As part of that, if you are just starting your work day, please feel free to work from home today. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.