Google is not alone in putting a freeze on hiring.
Google executives have reportedly put their employees on notice, warning that layoffs are coming if results don't look up.
The company will have an "overall examination of sales productivity and productivity in general" and that if next quarter results "don't look up, there will be blood on the streets," employees who work in the Google Cloud sales department said they have been warned by senior executives. The warning was first reported by Insider and then quoted by others, inlcuding The New York Post.
Employees are worried about the layoffs after the search engine quietly extended its hiring freeze this month without making an announcement.
Earlier this month, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, said he is not satisfied with the work output of many employees. According to Mr Pichai, productivity at Google is below where it ought to be.
The company earnings in the second quarter of 2022 were weaker than expected, as was the case with the first quarter.
The search giant began a new initiative called 'Simplicity Sprint' in an effort to increase productivity. Mr Pichai has urged the employees to "create a culture that is more mission-focused".
Mr Pichai had stated that the company would reduce recruiting and investment through 2023, pushing staff to work with greater urgency and "more hunger" than demonstrated "on sunnier days".
Google is not alone in putting a freeze on hiring.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and founder of Facebook's parent company Meta, has also made it clear that the company will part ways with employees who do not perform as expected.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal too informed employees of the hiring freeze in a message earlier this year, citing a recent lag on growth and revenue targets.