Google CEO Sundar Pichai has justified the layoff of 12,000 employees, 6% of the workforce. Pichai recognized that the choice affected morale and the company’s capacity to adjust to economic changes. He also opposed notifying all laid-off workers at once.
At Google’s all-hands meeting on December 12, Sundar Pichai justified the decision to lay off 12,000 workers, or 6% of the firm. According to media reports, Pichai recognized that Google might have managed the layoffs better but took the choice after considerable deliberation and thinking, which lowered tech company morale.
In the meeting, an employee asked how this choice would affect growth and morale, to which Pichai replied, “clear big impact on morale”.
Pichai remarked, “It’s reflected in Googlegeist comments and feedback. A challenge for any organization. Google hasn’t had a moment like that in 25 years.”
Google layoff defense
Pichai indicated that 12,000 jobs had to be lost to adapt to shifting economic conditions and prepare for future growth.
“It became clear that not acting would have been a worse decision later. It would have weighed heavily on the company. Pichai said it would have been tough to establish the capability to invest in regions in a year like this with such a large shift in the world.
According to the media story, Pichai said that Google handled job layoffs poorly.
The 51-year-old Sundar Pichai called it a “very, very difficult decision” to instantly disable access to laid-off workers’ work accounts.
Pichai added that notifying all laid-off employees at once, regardless of time zone or geographical location, was a bad idea.
Pichai claimed, “Clearly it’s not the right way. Definitely something we could have done differently.”
Conclusion
At Google’s December 12 all-hands meeting, Sundar Pichai justified the decision to lay off 12,000 workers, or 6% of the firm. After much debate, Pichai said that Google could have handled the layoffs better, but the decision hurt morale. He said the decision was made to adapt to changing economic conditions and position Google for development. Google’s employment layoffs were poorly handled, according to Pichai. He also noted that quickly removing access to laid-off employees’ work accounts and telling them everyone at once, regardless of time zone, are unsuccessful. Pichai recognized that Google could have handled the matter better.
