Google Joins Amazon, Microsoft and Meta in Laying Off Employees

Google has joined major rivals Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta in laying off employees in the midst of the global economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tech giant was hit hard in recent months with income from its advertising services plummeting as the pandemic spread worldwide. In response, the company has made the difficult decision to lay off certain employees.

Google’s parent company Alphabet recently announced that it is cutting approximately 4,000 full-time jobs in the sales and marketing divisions. This number only accounts for 2% of Alphabet’s total workforce but reflects the increasing depth of the economic recession.

The layoffs come after Alphabet reported earnings of $33.7 billion in Q3 of 2020, compared to $29.9 billion in the same time period a year ago. Despite higher overall earnings, much of this revenue did not come from their advertising revenue due to the pandemic.

Google is not the only tech giant that has been affected by the current economic situation. In August, Amazon announced that it was planning to cut its workforce by 6,000 employees. Microsoft and Meta have also reported large scale layoffs.

Despite these layoffs, Google is also making investments to help weather this storm. The company is dedicating $17 billion to capital expenditures in order to strengthen their infrastructure, improve employee benefits, and add new services. The company also recently announced a new division, Google for Startups, which will provide resources and opportunities for small businesses.

The global pandemic has had an enormous effect on the economy, and companies like Google are doing their best to manage the impact and remain competitive in the long-term. Although these layoffs are unfortunate, they are part of what may be an important reset for the tech industry in order to ensure that these companies can continue to remain competitive amid unprecedented economic turmoil.