Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has decided to slow down on hiring for the remainder of the year. This was informed by CEO Sundar Pichai to employees over an email on Wednesday.

According to a Bloomberg report, Pichai wrote that much like the 2008 financial crisis, the entire global economy is hurting and “Google and Alphabet are not immune to the effects of this global pandemic.”

The Google CEO added, “We exist in an ecosystem of partnerships and interconnected businesses, many of whom are feeling significant pain.”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Image: Reuters

Pichai said that while the company in 2019 had hired 20,000 Googlers and had been targeting a similar number for 2020, they believe it is time to significantly slow down the pace of hiring while keeping the momentum in a small number of strategic areas.

Google had earlier committed over $800 million towards efforts to tackle the COVID–19 pandemic. Subsequently, Sundar Pichai donated Rs 5 crore to Give India, matching Google's earlier donation to the non-profit organisation.

Google has also teamed up with Apple to work on a contact tracing approach that aims to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Both the companies will work together to create a system where mobile devices can trade information via Bluetooth to alert people if they are in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID–19.