As part of a succession of cost-cutting initiatives announced in order to prioritise its work in artificial intelligence, Google is ending its renowned employee perks. According to a March 31 memo signed by Google’s chief financial officer Ruth Porat and the tech company’s search lead Prabhakar Raghavan, employees would no longer receive complimentary snacks, laundry services, and work lunches.Â
Google consistently ranks as one of the best locations to work because of the perks it offers to its employees. But for the company, the price of these advantages has increased significantly. Google has therefore decided to cut back on some of its exorbitant expenses. According to reports, a number of Google’s company-wide perks will be reduced or removed to benefit the company’s current goals and plans. Google will also put off hiring choices to save money.
As part of its efforts to reallocate resources and implement cost-cutting measures, Google, the tech giant renowned for its fantastic employee perks, is making adjustments to its corporate benefits. The company is making drastic changes to stay up with other search engines, prioritising Artificial Intelligence technology while laying off thousands of workers amid recessionary fears. After letting go of roughly 12,000 workers worldwide, the search engine giant announced a new cost-cutting measure. Google allegedly reduced its workforce by 6 per cent.
Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer at Google, reportedly sent a memo to staff on Friday outlining the elimination or reduction of a number of benefits, including some of the company’s micro kitchens that give employees free snacks like cereal and espresso. The letter states that the company will no longer budget money for buying personal electronics like laptops.
According to reports, changes to benefits will vary based on each office location’s needs. How often amenities like kitchens are used in that specific office space will affect them. The micro kitchen will be closed on days when there is usually much less activity. Additionally, some fitness class schedules may change based on demand.
CFO Porat predicts that the business will reduce hiring and reallocate teams to concentrate on work that is more important. Employees at Google allegedly received the memo on March 31. Rearranging the schedule of the fitness courses will help the business save money as well. Google explained in a statement that its corporate objective is to achieve long-term savings through increased speed and efficiency. They are also taking some practical steps to ensure that they continue to provide market-beating perks, benefits, and facilities while also being good stewards of the resources at their disposal.
For a very long time, Google employees have enjoyed luxuries like laundry services, massages, company-provided meals, exercise facilities, and hefty salaries and stock awards, making it a desirable place to work. These benefits, however, might soon be over as Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced earlier this year that the company would be reducing its staff by about 6%, or close to 12,000 workers.
Pichai, who has referred to AI as the most revolutionary technology, thinks that by firing workers, the business could “direct its talent and capital to its highest objectives. Along with these adjustments, Google recently notified staff that some employees would need to rotate and bargain desk space as the business looks to downsize some of its offices.
