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Investor tells Google: Cut costs, stop paying staff so much

8 points by kiyanwang 4y ago

Manjuuu 4y ago
You would need a cartel of high tech companies and to lower the salaries together at the same time, for that to have minimal negative side-effects, i.e. people leaving for greener pastures. Oh wait.
porphyra 4y ago
Google's problem isn't that they are paying too much. It is that they aren't effectively using the talent they have. They have a bunch of extremely talented problem solvers that can make the same $500k total compensation working at any other large tech company, but they are stuck writing protobufs and yamls all day. While once nimble, in the recent decades Google has become saddled with bureaucracy and politics.
- returnInfinity 4y ago
  Also it appears that any problem that's solved, needs to be solved at Google scale or its not worth solving. Any and all small projects will get canned. The graveyard provides anecdotes. Maybe an insider can confirm this.
tchalla 4y ago
> "An analysis by S&P Global illustrates that median compensation at Alphabet was 67 percent higher than at Microsoft and 152 percent higher than the 20 largest listed technology companies in the US. There is no justification for this enormous disparity," said TCI. Disparities are always unjustified if it takes more off my table.
tdeck 4y ago
Is it possible for activist investors to pressure Google when the two founders have something like 2/3 of the voting shares?
- ashtami8 4y ago
  No, that is why the hedge fund is begging.
nowherebeen 4y ago
There is already very little growth left at Google. If the talent leaves, I believe Google will start a long term downward trend. I am not doubting Google employees are overpaid, but that’s the only way to keep them there at this point.
guax 4y ago
Person whose only contribution is to add money to the pile expect larger return by sticking it to people actually working at the company. News at 11.
- djbebs 4y ago
  If you dont want to work for them, you're not required to.
  - redkabbage 4y ago
    if you don't want to invest in them, you're not required to either. It's much easier to change investments than to change jobs.
- piva00 4y ago
  Even more, expecting larger returns from a company posting this kind of results (Q2 2022): > Net income $ 16,002 (in millions) US$16B of net income in a quarter and these leeches are complaining about costs? I can't scream "go fuck yourselves" loud enough to sooth the rage I feel reading this kind of bullshit. Eat the rich...
bfung 4y ago
google in dire need of better customer support in some products if it expects to stay competitive in the non-search and YouTube areas. Perhaps moving the $$$ resources to the right place is in order. 200k off a 500k salary still leaves the 300k person in top 5% income earned in California. That leaves at least 100k for customer support person. Edit: see other front page article, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33632468 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33632468

8 points by kiyanwang 4y ago

You would need a cartel of high tech companies and to lower the salaries together at the same time, for that to have minimal negative side-effects, i.e. people leaving for greener pastures. Oh wait.

porphyra 4y ago

Google's problem isn't that they are paying too much. It is that they aren't effectively using the talent they have. They have a bunch of extremely talented problem solvers that can make the same $500k total compensation working at any other large tech company, but they are stuck writing protobufs and yamls all day. While once nimble, in the recent decades Google has become saddled with bureaucracy and politics.

returnInfinity 4y ago
Also it appears that any problem that's solved, needs to be solved at Google scale or its not worth solving. Any and all small projects will get canned. The graveyard provides anecdotes. Maybe an insider can confirm this.

tchalla 4y ago

> "An analysis by S&P Global illustrates that median compensation at Alphabet was 67 percent higher than at Microsoft and 152 percent higher than the 20 largest listed technology companies in the US. There is no justification for this enormous disparity," said TCI. Disparities are always unjustified if it takes more off my table.

tdeck 4y ago

Is it possible for activist investors to pressure Google when the two founders have something like 2/3 of the voting shares?

ashtami8 4y ago
No, that is why the hedge fund is begging.

nowherebeen 4y ago

There is already very little growth left at Google. If the talent leaves, I believe Google will start a long term downward trend. I am not doubting Google employees are overpaid, but that’s the only way to keep them there at this point.

guax 4y ago

Person whose only contribution is to add money to the pile expect larger return by sticking it to people actually working at the company. News at 11.

djbebs 4y ago
If you dont want to work for them, you're not required to.
- redkabbage 4y ago
  if you don't want to invest in them, you're not required to either. It's much easier to change investments than to change jobs.
piva00 4y ago
Even more, expecting larger returns from a company posting this kind of results (Q2 2022): > Net income $ 16,002 (in millions) US$16B of net income in a quarter and these leeches are complaining about costs? I can't scream "go fuck yourselves" loud enough to sooth the rage I feel reading this kind of bullshit. Eat the rich...

bfung 4y ago

google in dire need of better customer support in some products if it expects to stay competitive in the non-search and YouTube areas. Perhaps moving the $$$ resources to the right place is in order. 200k off a 500k salary still leaves the 300k person in top 5% income earned in California. That leaves at least 100k for customer support person. Edit: see other front page article, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33632468 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33632468