When Google and Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai took to the stage last month at the Code Conference, one of global tech's biggest events, he spoke about making the company 20 per cent more productive. One way to do so, he said, was understanding how to reduce the number of people making decisions in "areas to make progress".

Mr Pichai's comments come as big tech companies including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple prepare for a global economic slowdown with job cuts, hiring freezes and internal reorganisations. Falling stock valuations, rising interest rates and recessionary fears have forced companies into belt-tightening mode.