Google job cuts: Investor tells company to fire 1.5 lakh employees

According to a report in The Information, job cuts were wide-ranging in terms of positions and divisions. Those impacted worked on Android and Chrome (Platforms and Ecosystems), Search, and Cloud. Tweets from those in the United States that were laid off confirm those areas and roles (engineers, developer relations, community). Google recently announced that it is reducing the headcount at the company by 12,000 jobs or 6% of its workforce but it as per an investor, the company should aim to further cut jobs and bring back the total number of employees to “around 150,000 (1.5 lakh) in line with Alphabet’s headcount at the end of 2021.”In a letter dated January 20 and addressed to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, hedge fund billionaire Christopher Hohn said that the company’s “decision to cut 12,000 jobs is a step in the right direction, but it does not even reverse the very strong headcount growth of 2022” and that “the management will need to go further.”Pichai recently said that Google hired “for a different economic reality than the one we face today” after it saw periods of dramatic growth over the past two years. Read AlsoTechies earning up to $1 million a year laid off at Big Tech firms, claims reportAs Big Tech layoffs dominate headlines, more details have emerged on which verticals and senior executives earning up to $1 million annually bore the maximum brunt at Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.Second letter in three monthsIt is to be noted that this is his second letter in this regard with the previous one coming on November 15, 2022.”I argued in my previous letter that Alphabet’s headcount has grown beyond what is required operationally. Over the last 5 years, Alphabet more than doubled its headcount, adding over 100,000 employees, of which over 30,000 were added in the first 9 months of 2022 alone. The decision to cut 12,000 jobs is a step in the right direction, but it does not even reverse the very strong headcount growth of 2022. Ultimately management will need to go further,” he said.Read AlsoGoogle to lay off 12000: Read CEO Sundar Pichai’s emailGoogle is set to cut 12,000 jobs. The company’s CEO Sundar Pichai shared the “difficult news” in an email to employees. The job cuts will impact the company’s operations globally. Many of the affected employees in the US will get the email today. The letter also mentions the severance that theGoogle should “address excessive employee compensation”Apart from suggesting that Google should fire 1.5 lakh employees, he also said that the company should “address excessive employee compensation”. The investor also advised Pichai that Alphabet should limit stock-based compensation.”The median salary at Alphabet in 2021 amounted to nearly $300,000, and the average salary is much higher. Competition for talent in the technology industry has fallen significantly allowing Alphabet to materially reduce compensation per employee,” he said.As per a report by The Telegraph, the founder of The Children’s Investment Fund Management (TCI) holds a $6 billion stake in Google-parent company Alphabet.How to enable Android 13-themed icons on your phone