Google has announced cost-cutting measures and will end its well-known employee perks, such as free snacks, laundry services, and company lunches, according to a memo by Google’s CFO Ruth Porat and search lead Prabhakar Raghavan.
Additionally, the company plans to stop spending on personal equipment like laptops, reduce hiring, and shift the schedules of fitness classes to save expenses. The memo explains that the saved money would be used more efficiently to prioritize the company’s work in artificial intelligence (AI), citing infrastructure as one of the largest areas of investment. Google plans to save money by ‘getting more out of our servers and data centres’ and finding ‘more scalable and efficient ways’ to train AI models.
However, the company aims to adjust the perk changes based on office location needs and the requirements of each office space. A Google spokesperson said that the company aims to remain responsible stewards of its resources while continuing to offer industry-leading perks, benefits, and amenities.
For years, Google employees have enjoyed such perks, along with high salaries and stock grants, making it an ideal place to work. However, earlier this year, the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, announced that Google would be cutting staff by approximately 6%, amounting to roughly 12,000 employees.
The memo indicates that Google’s recent growth, the challenging economic environment, and the company’s incredible investment opportunities to drive technology forward, particularly in AI, make this work vital.
The decision to wind down costs, therefore, serves to focus on higher-priority work and investments in the company’s future.
Post Your Comments