In the latest indication that major businesses are rethinking staffing amid a market downturn that has hit Silicon Valley particularly hard, Google plans to restrict its hiring pace for the balance of the year.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in an internal message by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, who noted “the uncertain global economic outlook.” Google told CNN Business that the letter was real, but it would not explain.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Pichai stated in the message that going forward, “Moving forward, we need to be more entrepreneurial, working with greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than we’ve shown on sunnier days.” In some cases, that means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes.”
According to a regulatory filing, Alphabet reported having 163,906 staff members as of the end of March, an increase of more than 20,000 from the year before.
The Google letter is the most recent evidence that the once-promising digital industry is now facing a new reality check. This is in contrast to how recently it had experienced a boom in demand due to changing consumer behaviour during the epidemic. A number of tech companies recently announced that they are halting hiring or making employee reductions due to growing inflation, rising interest rates, and concerns about an approaching recession.
A rising number of digital firms, including Netflix and Coinbase, have announced layoffs. GoPuff, a business offering lightning-fast delivery, recently informed investors of its plans to liquidate dozens of US warehouses and lay off 10% of its global workforce. Microsoft also said earlier this week that it would be cutting a limited number of positions, despite its intention to keep on hiring.
Other businesses, such as Uber, Lyft, Snap, Twitter, and Apple, have also hinted at future cost-cutting initiatives.