Alphabet to cut 20% jobs, key investor tells Sundar Pichai

Hedge fund billionaire and investor Sir Christopher Hawn has asked Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to cut more jobs and bring the headcount down to 150,000, which would result in a total reduction of 20 percent of overpaid jobs.

Google’s parent company Alphabet has eliminated 12,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its workforce.

In a letter that has gone viral on social media, Hohn told Pichai that the decision to cut 12,000 jobs was a “step in the right direction” but that it “could not reverse the very strong 2022 workforce growth “.

The Children’s founder Hahn wrote, “I believe management should aim to reduce the workforce to approximately 150,000, roughly in line with Alphabet’s workforce at the end of 2021. A reduction of 20 per cent would be required in the number of Investment Fund Management (TCI) which has a $6 billion stake in Alphabet.

The billionaire further added that management should also take this opportunity to address excessive employee compensation.

“The average salary at Alphabet in 2021 is about $300,000, and the average salary is much higher. Competition for talent in the technology industry has dropped significantly, allowing Alphabet to materially reduce compensation per employee,” he argued.

In particular, Alphabet should limit stock-based compensation given its low share price, Hahn said.

Over the past five years, Alphabet more than doubled its workforce, adding more than 100,000 employees, of which more than 30,000 were added in the first nine months of 2022 alone.

Last week, Pichai said he was “deeply sorry” for reducing the workforce by nearly 12,000 roles, and “took full responsibility for the decisions that brought us here”.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)