Page and Brin founded Google in 1998 when they were Stanford students. They made Google into one of the world's largest, most profitable companies, dominating online search, digital advertising and video.
"We've never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there's a better way to run the company," they wrote in a letter Tuesday. "And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a President."
In an email to Google employees, Pichai said that in his more than 15 years with Google, "the only constant I've seen is change. This process of continuous evolution — which the founders often refer to as 'uncomfortably exciting' — is part of who we are."
The restructuring at the top of Google comes as at time of increased turmoil for the internet giant.
Google, whose early unofficial motto was "don't be evil," has long been known for its open and freewheeling culture, with employees encouraged to speak out. But lately, management has been acccused of cracking down on dissent and criticism.
Google fired four engineers last week for accessing internal information. But the workers said they lost their jobs over their labor-organizing efforts and plan to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
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