Google's global layoffs of 12,000 technology talents are coming to an end?

　　In just three days, the three technology giants Microsoft, Amazon, and Google laid off a total of 40,000 employees.

　　On the 20th local time, Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed in a letter to employees that he will lay off about 12,000 people worldwide, accounting for more than 6% of the total number of employees. This is the largest round of downsizing in the company's history.

Among them, the layoff arrangement in the United States will take effect immediately, while in other countries, according to local laws and practices, the layoff process will take longer.

The company disclosed that the U.S. compensation package includes a notice period of at least 60 days, and laid-off employees will receive severance pay equivalent to 16 weeks of wages. In addition, employees will receive an additional two weeks of wage compensation for each full year of work.

　　Cheng Xi (pseudonym), a programmer who works at Google, told the first financial reporter that he was lucky that he was not affected.

"It would be too sad to be fired by the company before the Spring Festival." Cheng Xi once revealed to a reporter from China Business News on the 5th of this month that there was a rumor among the company's employees that large-scale layoffs would be announced this month, and he didn't want to make it a prophecy.

　　Received a layoff email in my sleep

　　According to Google’s internal email obtained by a reporter from China Business News, Pichai sent a letter to employees at 2:18 a.m. local time on the 20th, when most of the American employees were asleep.

　　“We’ve seen a period of phenomenal growth over the past two years, and we’ve done a lot of hiring to match and drive that growth, but today we’re facing a very different reality,” Pichai wrote. He also said: “ The fact that layoffs will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the layoffs."

　　The layoffs involve Google's various business segments and different regions, and the recruitment department and projects outside the core business are more affected.

Cheng Xi said that non-customer-oriented, non-engineering and operational positions have become the focus of this round of layoffs, and the reason why he is temporarily safe may be because his department has contributed considerable income to the company, and the revenue is also continuing. increase.

　　Pichai mentioned AI many times in the email, saying that there are a lot of opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence, which is a key area where Google needs to invest.

　　According to a Google employee who told the First Financial Reporter, shortly after Pichai’s email was sent, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian sent a letter to the department in an attempt to boost morale, saying that cloud computing is still an important part of Google’s internal scale. One of the largest and fastest growing businesses, and one in which the company continues to invest.

　Is the era of high salaries for technology professionals coming to an end?

　　In the past year, U.S. technology companies have faced many challenges. The sharp rise in interest rates and high inflation have hit the technology sector hard.

The Federal Reserve's interest rate hike has caused funds to flee technology stocks, and the sluggish macro environment has forced advertisers to cut online advertising spending, which in turn has hit the performance of technology companies.

All of the above factors are considered to put pressure on technology companies to lay off workers.

　　On the 18th, Microsoft confirmed that it plans to lay off about 10,000 employees by the end of March, less than 5%, but it is still the company's largest staff reduction in more than eight years.

On the same day, Amazon confirmed the launch of 18,000 layoffs, the largest "slimming" measure since the company was founded 28 years ago, and the largest number of layoffs in the history of technology companies.

　　At present, among the five major technology giants Facebook’s parent company Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, only Apple has no news of layoffs, but there is news that Apple CEO Cook voluntarily cut his salary by 40%.

A reporter from China Business News learned from Apple employees that the company has not yet adjusted employee salaries or bonuses.

　　Chen Zhijian, public relations director of the anonymous workplace social software Blind, said in an interview with a reporter from China Business News that professionals have been discussing changes in the job market recently.

He said: "In the past two years, professionals often have multiple employment opportunities and can choose and compare different companies with good salary and benefits. Now, they expect the era of high salaries to come to an end."

　　According to a recent Blind survey, 46% of professionals surveyed believe that salaries in 2023 will be lower than last year, and only 16% of respondents believe that salaries this year will be higher than last year.

　　"Among Google's layoffs, some employees with an annual income of more than 500,000 US dollars revealed that they were fired. I believe Google may take this opportunity to fire more high-level or high-paid employees to reset the salary standard." Chen Zhijian express.

　　Will there be spillover effects?

　　The next U.S. non-agricultural report will be released on February 3. Will the layoffs of technology companies spill over to the broader labor market?

　　Rachel Sederberg, senior economist at Lightcast, an employment market analysis agency, told Yicai Global: “Science and technology talents often have transferable skills that allow them to easily transfer to different companies and positions, and they may be able to find them quickly. Next. I don’t think the wave of layoffs at tech companies will impact the overall economy, especially if the overall labor market remains tight.”

　　She said that although technology giants have laid off employees on a large scale since the beginning of the year, looking back on the epidemic period, their recruitment speed is much faster than before the epidemic. The layoffs reflect the operating adjustments of technology companies and changes in consumption habits in the post-epidemic period.

　　Chen Zhijian also agrees with Sidberg's point of view to a certain extent: "U.S. layoffs continue to be concentrated in technology and banking, the overall job market is still strong, many companies still have difficulty in recruiting, and 'laid-off' technical personnel often Find a new job in 90 days or less."