Google CEO Sundar Pichai hints at more layoffs, wants to ensure efficiency

The development comes at a time when Google already fired six per cent of its total workforce in January, leaving 12,000 Googlers without a job

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, has hinted at another round of layoffs at Google. In January this year, Google decided to fire six per cent of its workforce, leaving 12,000 Googlers without a job.

Sundar Pichai was speaking with the Wall Street Journal when he hinted towards more layoffs. However, he did not directly address the subject.

He also discussed Google's work in the artificial intelligence (AI) domain. He said that Google's chatbot Bard was being integrated into products like Gmail and Google Docs to increase efficiency.
 

He said, "We're very, very focused on this set of opportunities we have, and I think there's a lot of work left. There's also an important inflection point with AI. Where we can, we are definitely prioritizing and moving people to our most important areas, so that is ongoing work."

Sundar Pichai said they were looking into every aspect of Google's work and taking steps to re-engineer its cost base permanently. He said that Google aims to increase its efficiency by 20 per cent. He stressed that Google needs to build upon the improvements it has made in recent times.
 

He added that job cuts were made after careful consideration. He said, "We've decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We've already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices."

Earlier, Google fired around 450 employees in its India offices. Employees across departments were laid off in February.

Amid economic uncertainties, tech firms worldwide have been cutting jobs to 'rationalise' their operations and bring in efficiency. To this end, large technology firms like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have cut jobs in large numbers.

Amazon has announced 27,000 layoffs in two rounds. In November 2022, Facebook parent Meta announced it was laying off 11,000 employees. This was followed by another 10,000 layoffs, announced in March this year.