Google parent Alphabet cuts hundreds of jobs in global recruitment team: Report

Google parent Alphabet is reportedly reducing its global recruiting team by hundreds of employees as it continues to slow hiring.

As reported by Reuters, Alphabet’s move to let go several hundred employees is not indicative of a widespread layoff, and it plans to keep the majority of the team focused on hiring for crucial positions.

The company is assisting these affected employees in their job search, within the organisation and elsewhere, the report added.

YourStory has reached out to Google for comments.

Alphabet has become the first major tech firm to initiate layoffs in the current quarter, following the workforce reductions implemented earlier in 2023 by its industry peers such as Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.

In January, Alphabet had trimmed its workforce by approximately 12,000 employees, or around 6% of its global workforce. As of June 30, 2023, Alphabet’s total employee count stood at 181,798.

Speaking about the headcount during the second-quarter earnings call, Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet and Google, said, “We continue to slow our expense growth and pace of hiring and ensure our teams are aligned to our highest priorities.”

The decision to reduce staff comes as the firm concurrently increases its investments in artificial intelligence.