Alphabet's $1.2 Billion Hit: Exiting Office Space in Last Quarter

Google's parent company, Alphabet, reported a $1.2 billion charge in the fourth quarter to exit office space as part of a global effort to optimize its office footprint, resulting in a total of $1.8 billion in related costs due to staff cuts. Despite the impact of the pandemic, momentum is building for companies to bring more staff back to their offices, but office-space demand remains roughly 30% below pre-pandemic levels. The charge, largely unnoticed in the news, reflects the broader trend of corporations downsizing office footprints. Despite this, the market for commercial-mortgage-backed securities continued to rally, and U.S. stocks also saw gains.