Google Parent Alphabet to Cut 12,000 Jobs

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said on Friday that it plans to cut 12,000 jobs, becoming the latest technology company to reduce its work force after a hiring spree during the pandemic and concerns about a broader economic slowdown.

The job cuts announced by Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s chief executive, amount to about 6 percent of the company’s global work force. Mr. Pichai said the company expanded too rapidly during the pandemic, when demand for digital services boomed.

“We hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today,” Mr. Pichai said in a note to employees posted on the company’s website.

Google joins a list of other technology companies that have laid off workers after concluding they had overextended under the belief that the pandemic-fueled boom for digital services and online tools represented a new normal. Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Twitter are among others who have announced thousands of job cuts.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.