Google is putting an end to its famous employee perks as it has announced a series of cost-cutting measures so that it can prioritise its work in artificial intelligence.
According to a memo dated March 31, signed by Google’s chief financial officer Ruth Porat and the tech firm’s search lead Prabhakar Raghavan, employees would no longer get free snacks, laundry services, and company lunches, Business Insider reported.
Apart from that, Google has decided to stop spending on personal equipment like laptops and trim costs by shifting the schedules of fitness classes.
“Because equipment is a significant expense for a company of our size, we’ll be able to save meaningfully here,” the memo said.
The memo states that the money saved from ending such perks would be more efficiently used to focus on higher-priority work. Google further said that it will also reduce the hiring pace as well.
“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,” they wrote.
Further, the tech firm said it would look to save money by “getting more out of our servers and data centres,” citing infrastructure as one of its largest areas of investment.
It also plans to find “more scalable and efficient ways” to train its AI models, the memo said.
Ruth Porat, however, in the memo added that the perk adjustments will vary based on office location needs and the requirements or trends in each office space.
Responding to the report, Google spokesperson Ryan Lamon told Gizmodo that Google has a company goal to make durable savings through improved velocity and efficiency.
“As part of this, we’re making some practical changes to help us remain responsible stewards of our resources while continuing to offer industry-leading perks, benefits, and amenities,” he was quoted as saying.
For long, Google employees have enjoyed these perks apart from high salaries and stock grants, making it an ideal place to work.
Google’s decision to wind down costs follows its CEO Sundar Pichai remarks earlier this year that the company would be cutting Google staff by about 6 per cent, amounting to roughly 12,000 employees.
(With inputs from agencies)
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