The massive job cuts that Google’s parent company Alphabet has just announced will affect employees in countries outside the US. 

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai sent an email to staff on Friday, announcing that the company will slash 12,000 roles. The layoffs will affect employees in the US and other countries, Pichai said. 

“We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices,” Pichai wrote. 

The layoffs constitute around 6% of Google’s global workforce. Google is the latest company to implement massive payroll cuts in the technology industry.  

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it’s letting go of 10,000 workers, while Amazon has recently started informing staff impacted by its plan to cut its workforce by around 18,000 employees. 

What impacted employees will receive 

Alphabet will pay affected employees in the US a minimum of 60 days during the full notification period.  

Affected employees will also get a severance package “starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google”. 

Aside from the severance pay, workers will benefit from six months of healthcare, job placement services and immigration support. 

“Outside the US, we’ll support employees in line with local practices,” said Pichai. 

The company decided to implement the job cuts as the “economic reality” has changed and it prepares to tap into artificial intelligence (AI). 

“I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI,” said Pichai. 

“To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices. So, we’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company.” 

“The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.” 

(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Brinda Darasha) 

Cleofe.maceda@lseg.com