Google to axe 12,000 jobs; CEO Sundar Pichai says 'sorry'
New York, Jan 20: Google will lay off 12,000 jobs across the globe, its CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Friday, becoming the latest tech giant to retrench staff en mass amid the global economic downturn.
In an email to employees, the Indian-origin CEO said:"I have some difficult news to share. We've decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles."
Pichai said the layoffs at Google were carried out after a "rigorous review" of its operations.
The jobs being eliminated "cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions", he said.
"Over the past two years we've seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today," Pichai said in his mail, which was also posted on the company's news blog.
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced 10,000 job cuts, or nearly 5 per cent of its workforce.
Amazon is also cutting 18,000 jobs and Facebook parent Meta is trimming 11,000 positions.
"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," he said.
"I'm deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here," he added.
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Five teachers suspended for facilitating mass copying during Class 12 exam in Beed
Beed (PTI): Five teachers, who were caught allegedly facilitating large-scale copying during an HSC (Class 12) examination paper at a centre in Maharashtra's Beed district, have been suspended, an official said on Tuesday.
The police had registered a first information report (FIR) against 17 teachers after a drone camera exposed large-scale copying on February 10, the first day of the Class 12 exams conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, at Centre 224 in Chousala.
Drone-mounted surveillance cameras deployed by the authorities captured supervisors in 16 examination halls, not only failing to prevent copying but also allegedly helping students cheat openly.
The official said five teachers from Bhalchandra Vidyalaya in Limbaganesh have been suspended in connection with the malpractice, and 12 from three other schools and junior colleges are under investigation and may face suspension as the probe widens.
After learning about the February 10 incident, Beed Collector Vivek Johnson ordered strict action against those responsible for the lapse.
Accordingly, an FIR was registered against 17 teachers, including the chief conductor of the exam centre, at Neknoor police station and charges under the Maharashtra Universities, Boards and Other Specified Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices) Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita were invoked.
The Education Department subsequently directed the concerned institutions to suspend the implicated staff.
