Google parent to layoff 10,000 employees in latest tech cuts

Google's parent Alphabet Inc is cutting about 12,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its workforce, it said in a staff memo Friday, as the technology sector reels from layoffs and companies stake their futures on artificial intelligence (AI). Alphabet's shares were up nearly 3 percent in pre-market trading. The cuts came at a delicate moment for the US company, which has long been the leader in key areas of AI research. Alphabet now faces a challenge from Microsoft Corp in a branch of tech that can, for instance, create virtually any content a user can think up and type in a text box. Microsoft this week said recession worries were forcing it to shed 10,000 jobs, less than 5 percent of its workforce, and it would focus on imbuing its products with more AI going forward – a point Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai echoed in the memo.