Google Reveals Plans to Cut Down on Employees’ Perks And Services to Save Cost

Giant tech company Google via a companywide email has revealed plans to cut down on employees’ perks and services to save costs.

The company seeks to ensure it fulfills its objective for 2023, which is to “deliver durable savings through improved velocity and efficiency”.

Google’s latest cost-cutting measure will see it cut back on so many things such as company lunches, laundry services, fitness classes, staplers, tape, frequency of laptop replacements for employees, snacks, etc. In addition to this, the company will also slow down hiring.

Google’s finance chief Ruth Porat disclosed that all these cut down was necessitated noting that the company needs to use funds efficiently to focus on higher-priority work.

In her words,

“This work is particularly vital because of our recent growth, the challenging economic environment, and our incredible investment opportunities to drive technology forward, particularly in AI.  We’ve been here before.

“Back in 2008, our expenses were growing faster than our revenue. We improved machine utilization, narrowed our real estate investments, tightened our belt on T&E budgets, cafes, micro kitchens, and mobile phone usage, and removed the hybrid vehicle subsidiary. Just as we did in 2008, we’ll be looking at data to identify other areas of spending that parents as effective as they should be, or that don’t scale to our size.”

She added that the company will reallocate teams to focus on higher-priority work while disclosing that the perks adjustment will vary based on office location needs and trends.

Also speaking on the company’s recent plan is Google spokesperson Ryan Lamon who said, “As we have publicly stated, we have a company goal to make durable savings through improved velocity and efficiency. As part of this, we are making some practical changes to help us remain, responsible stewards of our resources while continuing to offer industry-leading perks, benefits, and amenities”.

Investors King understands that Google has consistently been rated as one of the best places to work, due to the amazing perks it offers to employees. However, these perks have become quite expensive for the company and will be pruned to stay afloat in this uncertain economy.

Google’s latest cost cut is coming after it earlier announced massive jobs cuts of 12,000 roles at the company in January this year which is about 6% of its total workforce. Also in February, Google downsized its real estate footprint amid broader cost-cutting. The tech company told cloud employees and partners to share their desks and alternate days with their deskmates starting next quarter, citing real estate efficiency.

Google’s radical changes at the company are occurring as macroeconomic factors such as inflation, high-interest rates, and the like, continue to bite harder. Few other large global tech companies are already pulling back on aggressive hiring plans and massive costs cutting over concerns of a looming economic slowdown. Companies such as Meta, Twitter, Amazon, Salesforce, and Spotify, have all laid off a significant part of their workforce.