Activist hedge fund TCI Fund Management called on Google parent
Alphabet Inc.
GOOG 3.55%increase; green up pointing triangle
to aggressively cut costs and reduce losses in long-term bets such as the self-driving car unit Waymo, claiming the company would be more efficient
with fewer employees.
London-based TCI, which said it owned shares worth more than $6 billion in Alphabet,
made the requests in a letter to Chief Executive Sundar Pichai on Tuesday, writing that it has been a significant shareholder since 2017.
“We are writing to express our view that the cost base of Alphabet is too high and management needs to take aggressive action,” TCI wrote in the letter, signed by Managing Director Christopher Hohn. “The company has too many employees and the cost per employee is too high.”
Alphabet didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.