Sundar Pichai Is Reportedly Calling For His Employees to Establish a “Simplicity Sprint” Google layoffs

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai is reportedly calling for his employees to establish an “Simplicity Sprint” initiative meant to solicit ideas from employees around product development, boost efficiency and “get better results faster.” The idea follows the freezing of hiring and several emails that have Googlers worried about the possibility for the possibility of layoffs.

The Simplicity Sprint first covered by CNBC reported that it was discussed at a meeting of all hands in the company this week. Pichai reported that employees could discuss suggestions for the Sprint to August 15, via an internal questionnaire. The survey is said to contain questions that explore areas where the company may cut corners according to the version reviewed by CNBC.

Pichai reported that he made it clear that the company’s efficiency isn’t what executives desire especially in light of the disappointing quarter-end results. The overall revenue of Google was less than the analysts’ estimates, and the growth in revenue slowed to 13%, a decrease from 62% in the same time frame last year.

“I wanted to give some additional context following our earnings results, and ask for your help as well,” Pichai was reported to have told employees. “It’s clear we are facing a challenging macro environment with more uncertainty ahead.”

Concerning cuts, the Google’s Chief Human Resources Chief Officer Fiona Cicconi, said that the company continues to hire for critical roles, and doesn’t have any plans for layoffs, but she didn’t completely rule out layoffs in the future.

“We’re asking teams to be more focused and efficient and we’re working out what that means as a company as well,” Cicconi, a source stated. “Even though we can’t be sure of the economy in the future, we’re not currently looking to reduce Google’s overall workforce.”

Google hasn’t responded to Gizmodo’s request for comments.

Read more: Chester Times For Uk News.

This week’s meeting is the latest of a series of alarming, sometimes obscure messages between Google employees and executives in reference to the possibility of harder times ahead. In the beginning of July, Pichai reportedly sent an email to the staff asking employees to become “more entrepreneurial,” and declared that the company would shift its focus towards recruiting in “critical roles” moving forward. A few days after, Google reportedly sent a follow-up email in which it made the announcement that the firm would be implementing an employment freeze of two weeks. This freeze came in the wake of Google reportedly hired approximately 10,000 new employees during the second quarter.

“We’ll use this time to review our headcount needs and align on a new set of prioritized Staffing Requests for the next three months,” Google Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan was reported to have stated in the mail that was obtained from The Information.

Google’s message to its employees conveys a wider feeling of anxiety across the tech sector. A recent Crunchbass analysis revealed that the tech sector has been losing more than 30000 jobs in the last year, as of the end of July. The loss has come from almost all corners of the industry from electric vehicle giants such as Tesla as well as the biggest cryptocurrency player Coinbase.

There’s a sign that pressure might be coming to the Big Tech giants as well. A top Meta senior executive suggested management to “move to exit,” employees who were not performing. One month before the announcement, CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly considered slashing the amount of engineers employed by 30% over the course this year in the leaked interview. Zuckerberg reiterated that glum attitude during an all-hands meeting held last week, where he claimed that the company been hiring too quickly in the midst of the pandemic, Reuters notes.

The recent economic downturns in the tech sector provide the most clear explanation for Google’s recent scathing terminology, Pichai has faced criticism from those who believe his leadership in the company has been linked to a decrease in performance. 15 former and current Google executives talking with The New York Times last year accused Pichai of not acting swiftly enough when it comes to business decisions, and for creating a stalemate in the workplace due to bureaucracy. Certain ex- Google executives, such as Noam Bardin, have accused Pichai of not having the desire for risk that is so characteristic of the tech industry’s top executives.