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‘Don’t equate fun with money': Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells employees on cost cuts
Google CEO Sundar Pichai fielded questions from his employees on cost-cutting measures, potential job cuts and slow growth at an all hands meet in New York recently.
Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai recently fielded questions from his employees at an all hands meet in New York amid the technology giant's cost-cutting measures and potential layoff plans.
Addressing the major theme of cost cuts, Pichai said fun shouldn't be always be equated with money, adding that one can walk into a hard-working startup and people may be having fun and it shouldn't always equate with money, CNBC reported.
This comes at a time when the search engine giant is battling slow growth, cost-cutting and dissent by employees. When asked why the company is slashing travel and other budgets when Google ‘recorded profits and huge cash reserves’, Pichai said the company was being a bit more responsible through one of the ‘toughest macroeconomic conditions’ in the past decade.
In July, Google's parent Alphebet reported its second consecutive quarter of weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue while the third quarter sales growth is set to dip into single digits. The same month, the search engine giant had launched an effort called ‘Simplicity Sprint’ with an aim to get ideas from its nearly two lakh workforce to get ‘better results faster’ and eliminate ‘waste’.
During the session with the employees, Pichai was asked to elaborate on his remark regarding improved productivity and the 20 per cent goal. The Google CEO said that the company is going to be constrained in its growth in a looking-ahead basis, the CNBC report added.
Explaining his 20 per cent remark, Pichai said the product launch process has grown more complicated than it needs to be, suggesting review of the process and maybe remove two steps that can be an example of making something ‘20 per cent more efficient'.
Besides acknowledging the employee survey results which slammed the company's growing bureaucracy, he also spoke on a newsleak about the possible job cuts. Pichai said telling the entire workforce of cuts is not a scaleable way to do it.
The Google CEO was asked about clarifications on management asking employees to adhere to return-to-office policy and saying there is no need to travel or connect in person.
Pichai said he understood some of the travel restriction at this time and the return-to-office policy. He also told employees that if not seeing team in a while and getting work together in person, then it can be done.
