Google’s CEO warns of more layoffs as YouTube sacks 100

The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, has advised the company’s staff to brace for more job cuts as the tech giant continues to implement more cost-cutting measures across its operations.

The warning is coming a day after Google’s video=sharing platform, YouTube was reported to have sacked 100 workers across several divisions, including engineering, services, and voice-activated product Google Assistant.

Last week, Google also laid off hundreds of staff working on its digital assistant, hardware, and engineering teams.

According to a report by The Verge, Pichai warned that more layoffs are expected this year in a memo to the staff sent to the company’s staff on Wednesday.

Tough choices

In the internal memo to the staff shared with the publication, the Google CEO said:

“We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our big priorities this year. The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices.”

“These role eliminations are not at the scale of last year’s reductions, and will not touch every team. But I know it’s very difficult to see colleagues and teams impacted.”

Pichai said the layoffs this year were about “removing layers to simplify execution and drive velocity in some areas.” He confirmed what many inside Google have been fearing: that more “role eliminations” are to come.

“Many of these changes are already announced, though to be upfront, some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year where needed, and some roles may be impacted,” he wrote.

Tech layoffs in 2024

Just a few days into 2024, several layoffs have been announced by global tech companies, thus reflecting a repeat of what happened in 2023. Aside from Google, Amazon also announced layoffs last week, impacting hundreds of staff.

However, the number of positions being eliminated seems to have reduced compared with last year. In its first mass layoffs announced in January last year, Google axed 12,000 jobs.

The company had blamed the economic headwinds for the decision, adding that its past hirings did not prepare it for the current economic reality.

Earlier, Amazon had also slashed its workforce by over 18,000. Aside from the economic downturn, Amazon specifically acknowledged that it had added workers too quickly in warehouses as consumers shifted to online ordering.

Around this same time last year, Microsoft also laid off 11,000 workers, representing 5% of its workforce.

While the tech companies are now embarking on another round of head cuts in adjustment to the realities of the economy, there may be fewer laid-off tech workers this year, especially from those companies that had implemented mass layoffs last year.