Alphabet is ramping up scrutiny of all its projects and cutting hiring in half as it tries to curb costs

• Alphabet is attempting to tighten its belt after going on a hiring spree.
• CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would review all projects "pretty granularly" and make "course corrections."

Alphabet is attempting to tighten its belt after going on a hiring spree.

In the last 12 months alone, the company added nearly 37,000 new workers. Now, Google's parent company faces slowing growth amid a decelerating economy and a pullback in advertising spending.

"We're constantly working to make sure everyone we've brought in is working on the most important things as a company... that's a lot of what sharpening our focus has been about," CEO Sundar Pichai told investors and reporters on a call on Tuesday.

"We are reviewing projects at all scales pretty granularly to make sure we have the right plans there, and, based on that, the right resourcing, and making course corrections. This will be an ongoing thing," he added.

Alphabet has attempted to cut employee expenses amid a slowdown - the company reported disappointing financial results for the third quarter on Tuesday. Alphabet has said it will reduce the pace of hiring, and it has reportedly cut back on perks like employee travel and team offsites.

Pichai's grievances with his company's expanded headcount have been well-documented. Earlier this year, Pichai reportedly told employees at an all-hands meeting that there are "real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the headcount we have."

However, the number of employees at Alphabet may not be the only thing weighing on the company's bottom line. Since the start of this year, Alphabet has reported nearly $4.5 billion in losses from "Other Bets," which the company calls its division that manages smaller early-stage projects.