https://external-preview.redd.it/gEvmC3d8EhvvtIlfsdEapJun1gd29B_xc1hQNmNrmtg.jpg?auto=webp&s=cbc43600c6bc6c094fe16f7fda77ab01074190db
Seems Googlers don’t understand why travel and entertainment budgets/perks are getting scrutinized and cut. Markets undergoing a meltdown is irrelevant apparently.
**Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly grew agitated during a “heated” all-hands meeting in which an employee asked why the search engine was “nickel-and-diming” workers by taking away perks and benefits.**
Pichai, who has ratcheted up the pressure on Googlers to **boost productivity in the midst of a sharp economic downturn**, held court at a meeting in New York this week during which **he was** **grilled by his employees over cuts to travel and entertainment budgets.**
**One worker summoned the nerve to ask Pichai why Google was “nickel-and-diming employees” when the company reported “record profits and huge cash reserves,”** according to audio obtained by CNBC.
**The Googler’s pointed question was met with a positive response by his colleagues**, who **rated it high on the company’s internal Dory Q&A system**, according to CNBC.
Pichai reportedly paused to gather his thoughts and offer a measured response.
“How do I say it?” the CEO is reported to have told the disgruntled employee.
**“Look, I hope all of you are reading the news, externally,” Pichai continued. “The fact that you know, we are being a bit more responsible through one of the toughest macroeconomic conditions underway in the past decade, I think it’s important that as a company, we pull together to get through moments like this.”**
Pichai is said to have sounded annoyed, telling his charges: **“We don’t get to choose the macroeconomic conditions always.” He added that it was important for the company “to be smart, to be frugal, to be scrappy, to be more efficient.”**
**“I remember when Google was small and scrappy,”** Pichai said.
**“Fun didn’t always — we shouldn’t always equate fun with money. I think you can walk into a hard-working startup and people may be having fun and it shouldn’t always equate to money.”**
**One employee commented on Dory that it was ironic for Pichai to be slashing travel expenses while at the same time flying out to New York from his Bay Area headquarters to meet with them.**
**“It’s an interesting choice for Sundar to be in New York…after travel for employees is cut to only the most business critical,” the employee reportedly wrote on Dory.**
“I’m sure Sundar has business-critical meetings in New York.”
Pichai responded: “I think so. I think it qualified.” The response drew laughter from the audience, according to CNBC.
The CEO, who hinted at layoffs after the company imposed a hiring freeze earlier this summer, also **pushed back against an employee’s suggestion that Google shifted to a strategy of “aggressive cost saving”.**
**“I’m a bit concerned that you think what we’ve done is what you would define as aggressive cost saving,” Pichai said. “I think it’s important we don’t get disconnected. You need to take a long-term view through conditions like this.”**
Pichai, who dodged a question about executive pay at Google, said that the firm was **“still investing in long-term projects like quantum computing.”**
Pichai earned $6.3 million in salary last year.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that **Google informed some employees that they needed to apply for new jobs within the company if they hoped to remain employed**.
**Those who failed to reapply within 90 days would be let go**, The Journal reported.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported that its payroll had 174,014 employees as of the end of the second quarter.
In July, Alphabet reported weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue. The company anticipates that its third-quarter sales growth will fall into the single digits — a far cry from the more than 40% figure from a year prior.
Shares of Alphabet fell 1.4% Friday.
The Post has sought comment from the company.
An Alphabet spokesperson told CNBC: **“Sundar has been speaking to the company consistently over the last few months about ways we can be more focused.”**
Source: [https://nypost.com/2022/09/23/google-employee-grills-ceo-sundar-pichai-for-nickel-and-diming-workers](https://nypost.com/2022/09/23/google-employee-grills-ceo-sundar-pichai-for-nickel-and-diming-workers/?link=mktw)
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I have been working with Google in the ad space for 12 years now. Went to almost all of their offices in California and have close relationships with their reps. From what I saw, is that all are highly compensated (way above market). All have ridiculous perks. And when working at the office received free meals (I think Mountain View had 27+ cafeterias), and other entertaining perks (in-house gym, movie theatre, napping pods etc.). They also benefited from steep discounts on Google products or got them for free. I know there are many more perks. For reps the credit card limit for taking out clients was endless and I know every time they traveled enjoyed premium hotels etc. So to complain about a cut back of way above standards feels entitled or maybe they haven’t worked anywhere else.
I’ve never met a “googler” who wasn’t a pompous douchebag. Male or female
I’m a poor tech worker living in the Bay Area.. applied and failed google’s tech interview 3 times so far!
I don’t get why op specifically mentions him earning 6 mill in salary. He makes plenty more in total. This is a misleading figure.
Lol you bet your ass those ballsy employees are going to get fired after calling out the CEO like that
Entitled Googlers was after all not a myth. Go see Blind posts if you want proof
I’m usually on the side of employees when it comes to pay, benefits, and perks, but holy fuck do these google employees sound like spoiled cunts. Boohoo you can’t fly first class around the world on your employer’s dime when you don’t need to. You’re still getting paid hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars a year. Sure, google can definitely afford to keep these unnecessary expenses on the balance sheet, but why would they when we’re experiencing one of the worst economic meltdowns in history AND those expenses are completely unnecessary. The fact that they offered them in the first place was an unnecessary blessing. If you don’t like the fact that google isn’t tickling ur balls anymore then leave. I’m sure there’s a line of people that would be happy to take your place, you spoiled prick.
Lol let’s welcome to the real world our tech workers living in their fucking cosy caves fed by ridiculously low interest rate the past 14 years.
No latte for you!
spoiled employees question rich fuckhead
who the fuck cares
isnt this the company where productivity is cratering because employees are too busy taking work from home naps and arguing about id politics in slack to do any real work lmao
I don’t know man. I guess it’s true that the people who get to sit in the same room with the guy are all elites in their own field, but how the F do you forget that someone is your boss especially in these economic hardships? GOOG is a gigantic company but it needs to handle balance sheets in these bad times too. Cutting those benefits could mean zero layoffs for another season you never know.
The tech workers that allow you to tippy tap that message on your device designed and built by tech workers, through the web designed and built by tech workers onto the Reddit service designed and built by tech workers.
The more benefits and money for your time the better. Why do you critizise that? Unless you are owners or shareholders wanting to squeeze the product of their work, stop being jealous and at least understand that no one wants to do the same or more for less. I do not work for Google or anything remotely similar but i will always support employees that want the most of their time.
“Let them watch ads” – Marie Antoinette, least entitled Google employee
Good example of why these employee perks don’t work long term. Give them a 20 lb Turkey one year and then 15 lb the next…. then everyone is upset.
Socialist leftist culture can’t understand fundamentals of being on top
This is a sign of an internal rot and if i were a goog investor I would be very worried about my money.
He is trying to use a scalpel to save but they are complaining. Take a hatchet and cut them all
Hahah, he needs to read ‘n heed the story of the Golem….he’s created this monstrosity, time to deal with it.
I don’t know, if I could pump out $15 billion in free cash flow a quarter I think I might be willing to invest to keep employees happy during some market weakness.
Here’s the **truth** and don’t hate me for saying it. These people are on average smarter, faster, more productive, and better than the lot of you regards and you know it. They make $250k annually minimum and probably average around $450-650k a year total compensation, and the average employee brings in $1.4M in revenue. Google buys mindshare – sure some of these employees don’t do anything for the company’s revenue and sure some of them are serial office nappers who don’t produce anything at all (although they’d probably get managed out after a while). The problem is, if Google doesn’t hire them, they *might* go work for a startup that *might* prove in a few years to disrupt the advertising space and then Google has a big fucking problem, all because they couldn’t convince smart people that it’s better to do *nothing* at Google than *something* somewhere else.
That means to them, “nickel and diming” is taking away benefits that might be valued around a few thousand dollars a year – an amount the average American would think “oh shit that’s a sweet benefit”. To them, that benefit is just meh. Nice to have. Good for their productivity. etc.
To put it into context, imagine if your office decided to get rid of the sugar and splenda packets at work and the only available sweetner is sweet-n-low. That’s what’s happening here.
Alphabet out here like “ABCDEFU” to their employees.
It’s always the same shit even at my company. Won’t give employees 10% raises over promotions but all executives gets paid in the millions with their bonuses being half their fucking salary. No ceo needs 5+ million dollars a year. They spend most of their job delegating work anyways.