Google Layoffs : 200 Workers To Be Cut In Second Round Of Layoffs

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. is jettisoning nearly 200 workers in its largest round of layoffs yet, demonstrating that even highly profitable companies are feeling the recession's pinch.

The job cuts announced Thursday affected less than 1 percent of the 20,200 workers employed by the Internet's search leader.

That's modest compared with the massive shake-ups in the newspaper, retailing, automobile and financial services industries during the past year.

Google's housecleaning nevertheless is a sobering sign of the hard times around the globe.

Coming off a year in which earned $4.2 billion on revenue of $22 billion, Google still is trimming its expenses in attempt to protect its profit margins and prevent its slumping stock price from falling even further.

Google's fortunes are tied to ad spending that's dwindling as both marketers and consumers squirrel away more cash. Although Google's revenue has continued to rise during 15-month-old recession, some analysts say they believe the Mountain View-based company may finally be suffering its first quarter-to-quarter decline since it went public in 2004.

It's a guessing game because Google steadfastly refuses to offer financial guidance. But Google's recent actions have left little doubt that management is bracing for a possible downturn.

Once renowned for its free-spending ways, Google already has curtailed some employee perquisites, dumped outside contractors and closed services that aren't paying off. Pulling the plug on a radio advertising division in February eliminated as many as 40 jobs.

Management also has clamped down on hiring after adding more than 17,000 workers in Google's first 4 1/2 years as public company. That decision prompted Google to dump 100 employee recruiters in January.

The latest layoffs are concentrated in the division that sells Google's advertising.

In a blog posting, Google said it had hired too many employees doing the same jobs during its rapid expansion.

"Making changes of this kind is never easy _ and we recognize that the recession makes the timing even more difficult for the Googlers concerned," wrote Omid Kordestani, the company's senior vice president of global sales and business development.

Google shares gained $9.22, or 2.7 percent, Thursday to close at $353.29.

Comments

[leevntheus]

Google will continue to SINK. Why? They THINK they are the only game in town and they have NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. NONE. Zero. Nada. No phone, no email, no IM. They expect business persons to PAY THEM for ads but get NO CUSTOMER SERVICE when they screw crap up. And they screw crap up a lot! GOOGLE is NOT responsive to small business and is DOOMED. Google is to become the DELL of search. Yahoo or MSN WILL win out in the end if they provide exemplary CUSTOMER SERVICE. Google is rotting on the vine.

[berrycooda]

Are these layoffs all in America...­.

Why not some overseas jobs ???

We are really being sold down the river by these companies.

They should move their whole operation overseas and enjoy the fruits of
their labor in one of the country that they are supporting.
Apparently the only thing they really like about America are the "freedoms"

[Sumocat]

Do no evil... unless it helps your bottom line.

[Kathleen Simonetti]

Why can't Google find another alternative than to lay off 200 workers? It's inhumane. How about everyone take a 20% pay cut instead? I suppose the people at the top (Google Executives) don't want to give up their lifestyle or make any sacrifices. It goes to show how selfish and self-centered the so-called genius are at Google.
It's like the scene in Titanic, where the ship has sunk and no one in a lifeboat goes to help someone that is in the water, and dying. How about having compassion for your fellow man???

[Sumocat]

Actually, with less than 1% of their workers affected, they could have just forgone executive bonuses and trimmed raises by a percentage point across the board. Barely any sacrifice required to avoid sacrificing these jobs.

[QueenCeleste]

They might first have taken a look at the fancy and costly day care created by a sister-in-law. Lots of brouhaha on that awhile ago.

[igorz]

OTOH, couldn't happen to a more deserving group. Google is arrogant, obnoxious, irksome and it hires its entirely-u­nder-forty workforce in its image. 200 down, 20,200 to go! Who said George Bush's economy was all bad?

[HoosierRadical]

could larry and sergi delay taking some money to keep these workers?

[DaveVDave]

NO Kidding! They are billionaires!! Why lay people off when you have BILLIONS! If I were a Billionaire or Multimillionaire I would not do that!! I guess we'll see someday.

http://www.TheCommentDepot.com

[zukervati]

I bet none of those cuts were made overseas, especially in India. See, it's far more cost effective to lay off a first world person than a third world person - with workers productivity and intelligence being equal, it's no rocket science. I'm curious to find out.

[firelord5000]

Of course, can't blame em, its a global economy now.