Google has to be downsized by 20 percent to bring the headcounts under right size: says Chritopher Hohn in a letter to Sundar Pichai

Hedge Fund billionaire Christopher Hohn has advised Google and Aplhabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai to continue with the restructuring process and cut the total head counts. He has stated this to make the company’s cost base the right size.

The news has come as Google continued with the massive layoff process in its history by handing in pink slips to around 12000 employees or about 6 percent of the workforce.

Hohn has further acknowledged in his letter and stated that laying off people is not an easy choice but he has added that Google has more the number of employees than required and the workforce has to be downsized by about 20 percent.

In his letter, Christopher Hohn mentioned that he was encouraged to check into the matter that the CEO is taking some action to rectify Apple’s cost base and understand that it is not easy to let go of people.
The decision to reduce 12000 jobs could be the right decision but it does not undo the increased headcount in 2022. The management needs to continue the process further, and the management should aim to reduce the headcount to 150000. The numbers are on par with Google’s headcount by the end of 2021. It means that Google has to reduce 20 percent of its headcount to manage the workforce.

Google’s decision to reduce the headcount by laying off 12000 employees has come as a surprise for the affected employees and the techies. They have taken over their social media platform to question the decision of the higher-ups.

Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has further apologized to the impacted employees in an email stating that he is apologetic for the move and he is completely responsible for his decisions that led the company to undergo such a hard time.

Pichai informed the employees by email on January 20 that he had some disappointing news to share. He mentioned that the company has chosen to let go of 12000 employees from the workforce.
But, why are the massive layoffs taking place?

Most tech CEOs have declared that their business has risen to an all-time high during the pandemic, which is why they hired multiple employees. The decision has been heavy on the employees who are paying the price for the company’s mistakes. Furthermore, the tech CEOs even blamed the macroeconomic conditions for such a situation.

What’s the backstory behind such massive layoffs by Google?

When Sundar Pichai first announced layoffs, he mentioned that the company has seen dramatic growth within the last two years and they hired employees based on a different economic situation to un and match the growth Though, Sundar Pichai has not directly stated that Google overhired but he has stated that the company hired employees to fuel the growth and demand which did not match with the target of the company.

Despite the massive layoffs, Sundar Pichai offered a generous severance cheque to soften the blow. The severance package includes the following benefits: Google will pay the employees the full salary during the notice period. In addition, the company will pay a severance package starting at 16 weeks plus two weeks of salary for every additional service in Google. They will further provide at least 16 weeks of GSU venting.

On the other hand, Google will offer 2022 bonuses and the remaining vacation period to the employees. At the same time, the tech giant will be providing other securities such as six months of health care, job placement opportunities, and immigration services for the impacted employees.

But every coin has two sides. No matter how convenient the severance packages are, the fear is real for the tech sectors and it may worsen in the coming months. Laying off employees who have devoted nearly all of their lives to the company comes as a slap. One such case is Jeremy Joslin, who has worked for the company for 20 years. He found out about his layoff via email.

Other impacted employees have shared and condemned Google’s way of continuing to switch impersonal layoffs. Some of them condemned stating that Google looked into its employees as 100 percent disposable.
The irony is Google is considered the largest tech giant, and every situation round up to one statement now, “to work for money and move on.”

Edited by Prakriti Arora