Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a memo to employees said that the tech major will slow the pace of hiring and investments through 2023.

"The uncertain global economic outlook has been top of mind. Like all companies, we are not immune to economic headwinds," Pichai wrote in the memo.

But the memo added that Google would not freeze the hirings completely and would continue to hire for "engineering, technical, and other critical roles".

Also Read: There are early signals in IT hiring slowdown amid recession concerns, warns TeamLease

"Because of the hiring progress achieved so far this year, we will be slowing the pace of hiring for the rest of the year, while still supporting our most important opportunities,” he wrote. “For the balance of 2022 and 2023, the company will focus on hiring on engineering, technical and other critical roles.”

However, he added that Google was still trying to hire as many people in this testing time to help people and society.

"In the second quarter alone, we added approximately 10,000 Googlers, and have a strong number of commitments for the third quarter start dates which reflects, in part, the seasonal college recruiting calendar. These are extraordinary numbers, and they show our excitement about long-term opportunities, even in uncertain times," he added.

Also Read: Microsoft cuts 1,800 jobs in restructuring but says will hire more

In FY22-23, Alphabet shares are down 21 percent so far, falling alongside the rest of the tech industry as investors rotate out of the stocks. Google disappointed earlier by missing analyst estimates for the first quarter. Growth in the first quarter slowed to 23 percent from a year earlier, down from 34 percent growth in the first three months of 2021.

Google is not the only one slowing hiring. Other firms like Meta (Facebook), Twitter, Microsoft, and Netflix, among others, have also slowed down or halted hirings and are even laying off employees.

Also read: IT companies struggle to protect margins amid concerns of worsening attrition

On Monday, Microsoft cut some jobs as it realigned business groups. Microsoft also said it planned to keep hiring for other roles and finish the current fiscal year with an increased headcount.

Earlier this month, Meta’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox outlined the challenges that Meta could face going forward in an internal memo. The memo said that the company is in a phase of slow growth and that employees should not expect huge influxes of new engineers and budgets.

Netflix had laid off 300 employees, as per an announcement by the streaming giant last month after announcing laying off 150 employees earlier.

Also read: Meta warns employees of serious times and slowing growth in second half of the year

First Published:Jul 14, 2022 9:07 AM IST