An increasing number of companies are putting the brakes on hiring after a lengthy COVID-fueled tech boom, including Google, which on Tuesday informed its workforce that it will be slowing down some hiring for the rest of 2022.
What Does the Memo Say
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai issued employees notice in the form of an internal memo about "slowing down the pace of hiring" this year. However, the company is not completely ceasing hiring. Instead, it would concentrate on "engineering, technical and other key roles" for the balance of 2022 and 2023, according to the reports by The Register and The Verge.
"Because of the hiring progress achieved so far this year," Pichai wrote, "we'll be slowing the pace of hiring for the rest of the year, while still supporting our most important opportunities."
Google recruited 10,000 individuals to its workforce in Q2 and had a "strong number" of people committed to starting in Q3, according to Pichai's memo, in part because of seasonal college recruiting.
Google parent Alphabet's Shares Are Down
As investors exit the stocks that fueled the bull market of the past decade, Alphabet shares have fallen by 21% so far this year, plummeting with the rest of the tech sector, as per CNBC.
When the economy was recovering from the pandemic in the first three months of 2021, growth was 34%. In the first quarter of 2022, however, growth slowed to 23% from a year earlier.
Other Tech Companies Also Freezes Hiring
The Verge said that Meta, which recently implemented recruiting freezes for some teams, issued a note to workers warning of "serious times". Uber, on the other hand, stated that it must be "hardcore" about expenses. Furthermore, plans to slow hiring have also been made public by Snap and Spotify.
Some Companies Even Decided To Lay Off Workers
As reported last month, Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla, said in a tweet exchange that he had a negative feeling about the economy and that he may be considering reducing 10% of Tesla workers. With that, Tesla has started the process of downsizing its workforce.
The pandemic also impacted software company Lacework, which let go of 20% of its workers in May. The cloud security provider stated that it has made every attempt to offer those affected severance that includes money, healthcare coverage, and access to outplacement support.
The micromobility startup Bird, which intends to reduce its workforce by 23 %, is one of the latest companies to retrench workers. The company claims that it employs about 600 individuals, which suggests that 138 workers will be let go.
Even the "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) sector has been affected by the crisis. Swedish Tech Company Klarna announced in May that it is cutting off 10% of its employees. This retrenchment will result in roughly 700 individuals losing their jobs.
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