Four days after it announced that 12,000 employees will be laid off, Google held a town hall meeting where senior executives answered questions. According to a report by CNBC, it was an online town hall meeting, where the senior executives explained why employees were let go.
Nothing ‘random’ about the layoffs
In reply to various questions about the layoffs, Google’s senior executives said that “cuts were made in a very structured, very prioritised way, nothing was random about it.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that “I understand you are worried about what comes next for your work. Also very sad for the loss of some really good colleagues across the company.” He also said that those who are outside the US will be feel anxiety as there has been a delay “in being able to make and communicate decisions about roles in your region.”
Pichai also said that the senior executive compensation will see some cuts. Senior vice presidents at Google, as per Pichai, “will see a very significant reduction in their annual bonus”, before adding, “the more senior you are, the more your compensation is tied to performance.”
Google employees asked why those who were let go weren’t allowed to say proper goodbyes or why their access was abruptly terminated. Royal Hansen, vice president of Security at Google, said that there was “an unusual set of risks that frankly, we’re not that well-practised at managing.” He said that employees had access to sensitive data and “even though it might have been a very low likelihood, we had to plan for the possibility that something could go terribly wrong,” he explained.
Pichai said that 2023 will be an important year for Google in terms of AI. “There’s a paradigm shift with AI and I think, with the concentration of talent we have and work we will do here, will be a big draw and I hope it will continue to be,” Pichai added. “We have to keep earning it,” he said, according to the report by CNBC.