Google Layoffs: Amidst talks of job cuts, parent company Alphabet is still hiring new employees

As rumors of potential layoffs continue to swirl, Google remains a hiring machine, adding new employees to its ranks. The tech giant continues to expand its workforce while others in the sector are cutting back. It is still to be seen if this is a sign of confidence in the face of uncertainty, or simply a case of the company having too much money to burn. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently dropped some strong hints about workforce reduction. On the other hand, Google employees have confirmed that the company is still hiring on all levels. 

Some recent posts on Blind have revealed that Google is on a hiring spree, not only for critical roles but even for entry-level jobs. Blind is a platform that lets employees post anonymously and it verifies the accounts only via official email IDs. The employees are equally clueless about Google's hiring strategy. 

A post by a Google employee stated, "It's [Google] not only hiring for critical roles. It's hiring for all levels. Including l3 new grads with 2023 start dates. It's still giving offers to generic l3, l4, l5 positions...What is this company smoking?"

Also read: Google ready to layoff 10,000 employees? Here's what CEO Sundar Pichai said

In comparison to Meta, where the company completely froze hiring procedures leading up to the layoffs, Google has not stopped its stopped onboarding new employees. 

A Squarespace employee commented on the post claiming that Google recently started pursuing him/her for a new job. The individual said, "Google just sourced me, out of the blue. I found it odd. Interviewed with them 3 years ago but wound up going somewhere else….they reached back out every 6 months or so until mid of 2021….then radio silence….now they started again."

In the month of November, a report suggested that Google will be laying off around 10,000 employees Google had earlier announced that it will be slowing down the hiring process in the fourth quarter of the year. The layoff process is yet to begin but if Google is already planning job cuts, a hiring freeze should be in order.

During the company's Q3 2022 earnings call, Google claimed that its actions to slow the pace of hiring will become more apparent in 2023. The company added 12,765 people in the third quarter. Google claims most of the hires were for technical roles.

In the fourth quarter, Google announced that the headcount additions will slow to less than half the number added in Q3. However, Google will continue hiring for critical roles, particularly focused on top engineering and technical talent.