Googlers’ Morale Is Declining Despite Great Earnings
Imagine after fighting a tough war on the battlefield, the general declared in a victorious tone: “We fought well, and we won! And now, we need to cut costs! There won’t be a higher salary, and some of you will be laid off!”
Like what??!!
That scenario is playing out in real life. Google’s business is growing at its fastest rate in two years, and a blowout earnings report in April sparked the biggest rally in Alphabet shares since 2015, pushing the company’s market cap past $2 trillion. But at an all-hands meeting last week with CEO Sundar Pichai and CFO Ruth Porat, employees were more focused on why that performance isn’t translating into higher pay, and how long the company’s cost-cutting measures are going to be in place.
Prior to the earnings report in April, Google had laid off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams as part of cost cutting measures.
The Alphabet Workers Union is unhappy about this, saying that their members and teammates worked hard every day to build great products for users, and the company cannot continue to fire their co-workers while making billions every quarter. There’s a significant decline in morale, increased distrust and a disconnect between leadership and the workforce.
It looks like the leadership of Alphabet has a different focus than to reward Googlers for their continuous effort to make the company great in the tech world. In 2023, the company laid off more than 12,000 people, fewer perks for remaining staff, along with other cost cuts that began when the economy turned positive again after the covid-19 pandemic. Instead, after announcing the company’s stellar performance and record earnings, the company also announced its first dividend as well as a $70 billion buyback.
That announcement wooed investors, pushing Alphabet’s share price up more than 10% within a month, at the expense of the people building the company. The essence for success in a tech company lies in its people, and I start to see a crack within the workforce of Google. We have to remember that while buybacks and dividends are good news to investors, they also mean the company will have less money to invest in the people and future product line ups.
What kind of company Alphabet will be in the next decade depends heavily on what the leadership is driving the morale of its employees from now on.
Like what??!!
That scenario is playing out in real life. Google’s business is growing at its fastest rate in two years, and a blowout earnings report in April sparked the biggest rally in Alphabet shares since 2015, pushing the company’s market cap past $2 trillion. But at an all-hands meeting last week with CEO Sundar Pichai and CFO Ruth Porat, employees were more focused on why that performance isn’t translating into higher pay, and how long the company’s cost-cutting measures are going to be in place.
Prior to the earnings report in April, Google had laid off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams as part of cost cutting measures.
The Alphabet Workers Union is unhappy about this, saying that their members and teammates worked hard every day to build great products for users, and the company cannot continue to fire their co-workers while making billions every quarter. There’s a significant decline in morale, increased distrust and a disconnect between leadership and the workforce.
It looks like the leadership of Alphabet has a different focus than to reward Googlers for their continuous effort to make the company great in the tech world. In 2023, the company laid off more than 12,000 people, fewer perks for remaining staff, along with other cost cuts that began when the economy turned positive again after the covid-19 pandemic. Instead, after announcing the company’s stellar performance and record earnings, the company also announced its first dividend as well as a $70 billion buyback.
That announcement wooed investors, pushing Alphabet’s share price up more than 10% within a month, at the expense of the people building the company. The essence for success in a tech company lies in its people, and I start to see a crack within the workforce of Google. We have to remember that while buybacks and dividends are good news to investors, they also mean the company will have less money to invest in the people and future product line ups.
What kind of company Alphabet will be in the next decade depends heavily on what the leadership is driving the morale of its employees from now on.
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dwarrior : MM usually need to pump the market to exit before any great downfall
d4v3jl : sounds familiar..like top glove during it's peak a few years back..