Google's parent company, Alphabet, is laying off about 12,000 employees in one of the largest mass layoffs in the tech industry in recent months.

In an open letter to employees (opens in new tab), CEO Sundar Pichai reports that the layoffs will affect the company's entire global operations.

"I have some news that is difficult to share," Pichai said. 'We have decided to cut approximately 12,000 jobs. We have already sent individual emails to employees in the U.S. who will be affected. In other countries, due to local laws and practices, this process will take longer."

Pichay added, "We have already sent out a letter to the employees in the U.S. who will be affected.

Pichai stated that he "takes full responsibility" for the layoffs.

"Over the past two years we have seen a period of dramatic growth. Consistent with that growth, and to facilitate that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.

Last November, investors in Alphabet, who hold about $6 billion in stock, reportedly told CEO Sundar Pichai to cut payroll costs (opens in new tab) and reduce the workforce. This was after CEO Pichai had already confirmed a slowdown (opens in new tab) in hiring and investment starting July 2023.

Google's headcount had ballooned to 186,779 by Q2 2023, and the job cuts will result in just over 6% of the company's employees losing their jobs.

In the third quarter of 2023, Google announced sales of $69 billion, up 6% from the same period last year; net income for the three months through September was $13 billion, down from nearly $19 billion a year earlier. The bulk of the revenue comes from Google search and Google ads, but it's not clear whether people will trust Google's ad spots (which open in a new tab) and click on them from now on.

Pichai reiterated the focus on AI for the rest of his employees, saying, "Being constrained in some areas allows us to bet big in others. Reorienting the company to AI first a few years ago has led to breakthroughs in our business and in the industry as a whole."

"Thanks to those early investments, Google's products are better than ever. And they are poised to share a whole new experience for users, developers, and companies. And we are getting ready to share a whole new experience for users, developers, and companies," Pichai continues.

These layoffs are not isolated events in the broader tech industry. Meta laid off more than 11,000 employees last November (opens in new tab), and Microsoft just announced 10,000 job cuts this week (opens in new tab). Amazon announced the largest job cuts (opens in new tab), affecting 18,000 people.

That means more than 50,000 people have lost their jobs at four of Silicon Valley's largest companies alone.

Intel also confirmed further job cuts at its Santa Clara headquarters (open in new tab). The chip maker is expected to announce more job cuts in the near future.