Alphabet Cuts 12,000 Jobs, Refocuses On AI

Google’s parent Alphabet is cutting about 12,000 jobs as it faces “a different economic reality”, it said in a staff memo, doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) and axing staff who support experimental projects.

The job cuts affect 6% of its workforce, and followsthousands of layoffs at tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft and Meta who are downsizing after a pandemic-led hiring spree left them flabby in a weak economy.

Related: Regulating Artificial Intelligence Requires Balancing Rights, Innovation

Shares in Mountain View, California-based Alphabet, which boosted its workforce by nearly a third through 2020 and 2021, rose 4% on Friday. They had fallen 30% in the past 12 months, echoing a 24% slump in the broader tech industry.

Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s boss since 2019, said in the memo on Friday that he took “full responsibility” for the decisions that led to the layoffs.

Pichai, whose pay was recently tied more closely to performance, said this was a moment to “sharpen our focus, reengineer our cost base and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities,” as Alphabet looked to get imbue its products with more AI, echoing comments from Microsoft that announced job cuts on Wednesday.