GOOGLE’S parent firm Alphabet has said it will cut about 12,000 jobs, in an email to staff.
It becomes the latest tech giant to announce significant cuts after similar announcements from Amazon and Microsoft in recent weeks.
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The cuts, which will affect about 6% of the group’s workforce, are expected to be made across its global markets.
Google employs more than 5,000 workers in the UK and three offices located across London.
It is not known how the cuts will affect the group’s UK staff.
Chief executive Sundar Pichai told workers: “I have some difficult news to share – we’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles.
“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.
“This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with.”
It comes just days after Microsoft said it will cut thousands of jobs by September.
The company employs 220,000 people worldwide, 6,000 of which are in the UK.
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Microsoft has six main offices in the UK – its Reading UK headquarters and sites in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Enfield, Manchester and Paddington.
Amazon also announced plans to shut three UK warehouses putting over one thousand jobs at risk.
The group, which employs around 1.5 million people globally, warned in November that its workers could be laid off.
Following a review of its business, it said it had found roles that needed to be axed.
Sites in Hemel Hempstead, Doncaster and Gourock, in the west of Scotland, have been proposed for closure.
The online retail giant announced plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs worldwide.
Royal Mail announced it is to cut as many as 6,000 jobs by the end of August this year.
And supermarket giant Tesco cut more than 300 jobs as part of a shake-up.
Your rights in redundancy
Companies can choose to cut their workforce and employees should understand their rights.
You are entitled to statutory redundancy pay, but only if you have worked at your job for two years or more.
The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly pay and number of years in the job.
You will get:
- Half a week’s pay for each full year you worked aged under 22
- One week’s pay for each full year you worked aged 22 or older, but under 41
- One and half week’s pay for each full year you worked while aged 41 or older.
But it’s capped at 20 years and the max redundancy pay you can get is currently £16,320.
Some companies may offer to pay more than the statutory amount. This will usually be in your contract.
Plus, you are still entitled to any pay you are owed for untaken holiday days at the end of your notice period.
The government has a calculator on its website to help you work out how much you are owed.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
