Google threatens employees with possible layoffs, ‘blood on streets’: Report

Google executives have reportedly warned employees of possible layoffs if the end quarter results don’t look good. This has created panic amongst employees that fear losing their jobs. A screenshot viewed Insider reveals that Google Cloud sales leadership threatened its employees, saying there will be an “overall examination of sales productivity and productivity in general” and that if next quarter’s results “don’t look up, there will be blood on the streets.”
This comes after the company in July announced a two-week hiring freeze, however, the company shows no sign of reversing the freeze. A Google employee told Insider that they are worried about possible layoffs after the company put a two-week hiring freeze in place which has yet to be reversed.  “Everyone has been talking about the company tightening its belt,” an employee said.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that productivity has to be improved, as the company reported its second consecutive quarter of weaker-than-expected earnings. “Create a culture that is more mission-focused, more focused on our products, more customer-focused. We should think about how we can minimize dractions and really raise the bar on both product excellence and productivity,” he said, as quoted CNBC. Further, he acknowledged that the company is “facing a challenging macro environment with more uncertainty ahead.”

“There are real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the headcount we have,” he added.
During the meeting, Pichai also announced the launch of ‘Simplicity Sprint’ – an initiative to increase the overall efficiency of the employees through ideas. “I would love to get all your help,” Pichai said, announcing that employees could share their ideas in an internal survey till August 15.
Meanwhile, as the tech industry grapples with uncertain economic conditions, a number of tech giants such as Meta, Netflix and even Twitter has slowed down on hiring.