Google to slow hiring amid uncertain global economic outlook

Google's parent company Alphabet Inc plans to slow down hiring for the rest of the year and consolidate investments through 2023, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai.

In an email sent to employees, he acknowledged that the uncertain global economic outlook has been top of his mind while making the decision, noting that Google is not immune to economic headwinds just like all companies.

"Because of the hiring progress achieved so far this year, we'll be slowing the pace of hiring for the rest of the year, while still supporting our most important opportunities," Pichai said.

For the balance of 2022 and 2023, the company plans to focus on hiring on engineering, technical and other critical roles, aligned with long-term priorities.

Further, Pichai urged employees to be more entrepreneurial than during sunnier days. They were asked to work with greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger. In some cases, that means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes, while in other cases, that means pausing deployment and re-deploying resources to higher priority areas.

He noted that Google hired about 10,000 new employees in the second quarter, and have a strong number of commitments for third quarter, partly reflecting the seasonal college recruiting calendar. As of March 31, Alphabet reported 163,906 employees, up 17% from a year earlier.