Google India layoffs 453 employees from various posts; Pichai takes 'full responsibility'

American multinational tech company Google fired 453 employees from various departments in India on Thursday, February 16. Reportedly, mail was sent to the affected employees by the Country Head and Vice President. 

Layoffs all over...

Notably, Alphabet Inc., the parent firm of Google, disclosed last month that 12,000 employees, or 6% of its global workforce, had been let go.

The company's CEO, Sundar Pichai, also sent a letter to the staff informing them that he accepts "full responsibility for the decisions that brought us here."

“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,” he said.

Pichai added that in order to make sure that people and positions are in line with the firm's top priorities, the company had conducted a "rigorous examination across product areas and functions."

“The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions,” Pichai wrote in the mail.

Microsoft slashed 10,000 jobs earlier in January, or about 5% of its workforce. Amazon is also laying off 18,000 employees. The parent company of Facebook, Meta, also said that it is eliminating 11,000 roles globally.

Youtube CEO stepping down 

Meanwhile, Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, announced that she is stepping down and that Indian-origin Neal Mohan, the Chief Product Officer, will succeed her as Senior Vice President and the new CEO of YouTube.

“Today, after nearly 25 years here, I’ve decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about,” she said.