Tech giant Google has warned its staff that they would witness a decrease in the number of promotions to more senior positions this year, according to a report in CNBC.
As per the outlet, an email the company sent to the staff said, "The process is manager-led and will be largely similar to last year - though with our slower pace of hiring, we are planning for fewer promotions into L6 and above than when Google was growing quickly."
The L6 classification denotes the first level of staff that is regarded as senior and normally consists of individuals with roughly ten years of experience. It is also regarded as the bottom rung of senior staff (or middle managers).
The move comes after the implementation of Google Reviews and Development (GRAD), the company's newly created performance assessment system for employees. According to the outlet, the system "will result in more Google employees receiving low-performance ratings and fewer receiving high marks."
The company further stated that it is promoting fewer people to senior roles "to ensure that the number of Googlers in more senior and leadership roles grows in proportion to the growth of the company." The email noted, "If your manager believes that you are ready to be promoted, they will nominate you. Workers in technical roles who want to "self-nominate" will have a "short window of time" between March 6-8 to do so."
In January, Google announced that it was cutting 12,000 jobs. Although speculation about the layoffs had swirled for months, the layoffs were nonetheless a shock for some employees.
Also Read: Amid Lay-Offs, Google Now Asks Employees To Share Desks
Chief Executive Officer Sunder Pichai had said that cuts were made after careful consideration. "We've decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We've already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices," Mr Pichai said in a statement at that time
It was also reported in February that the company had sacked around 450 employees across various departments in India. However, it is not clear whether the layoffs include the 12,000 job cuts announced by Alphabet Inc.
