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Google to cut down on employee laptops, services and staplers
- AlbertCory 4y agoTrue story: I was hosting author talks https://albertcory50.substack.com/p/culture-at-google-part-two-the-authors https://albertcory50.substack.com/p/culture-at-google-part-t... and of course those authors aren't paid. But I'd take them to the Google Store and let them pick out a gift for themselves, as a small thank you. They were all very modest in their choices. Eventually Google imposed a hard limit on the amount they could spend. Think of the savings! But staplers! Good grief, how many staplers did I go through? (actually, I don't think I had one)
- anuraaga 4y agoAside from iOS development, Google laptops are just a terminal into a dev desktop or cloud VM type of environment. Still, top of the line MacBook pros were the norm seemingly just as a "perk" in the very literal sense - I tried reproducing the remote dev experience on a $500 or so Chinese barebones laptop and was satisfied in general with it. Google Meet for some reason was really laggy though, so maybe that's why MacBook pros are required to get work done.
- stygiansonic 4y ago“We have been asked to pull all tape/dispensers through out the building,” a San Francisco facility directive stated. “If you need a stapler or tape, the receptionist desk has them to borrow.”
- jeffwask 4y agoTape is kinda silly but who staples and distributes paper documentation these days. People just gather all this shit then throw it in a drawer to never use out of decade old force of habit.
- thrill 4y agoI used a round drawer. It self archived every night.
- taeric 4y agoAlso... how bad off is the company if they are worried about the expense of staples/tape!? Just, wow.
- dralley 4y agoThey have better than 25% operating margin on a company with massive revenue. They're fine, but the shareholders must be appeased with human sacrifice.
- deathanatos 4y agoDo they? A large chunk of the market is held by retirement accounts. My 401k doesn't care about staplers, and I would very much value long-term gains over short-term savings. Collectively, 401k holders don't have much of a voice. I suppose Vanguard might, but even so, retirement accounts are specifically balanced such that they have less short-term risk the nearer they come to fruition, and Vanguard's motive, in theory, should be to provide me with better long-term gains, not short-term savings at the expense of a worse retirement. I think I want to see a stronger argument for "the shareholders" … and/or these sorts of (idiotic) decisions (that we see far more companies doing than just Google; cf the McD's article that trended earlier where McD is laying people off while beating profit expectations!) would seem to fall squarely on bad management.
- ajmurmann 4y agoApparently activist investors have been pushing for cost cutting: https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-investor-calls-on-google-parent-alphabet-to-slash-costs-11668528859 https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-investor-calls-on-goog... I've read that activist investors have pushed for this at several tech companies and even heard theories that that's what actually kicked off the layoff avalanche.
- marcosdumay 4y ago> My 401k doesn't care about staplers Are you sure? If it is actively managed, it cares about a whole lot of things that you don't know about. And if it passively invested, it cares about what the average of the active managers care about.
- billconan 4y agoOne of my best friends landed a job at Google after graduation. She told me about a fellow new hire she met during orientation who said she planned to coast along in the job since she had learned that Google never lays people off. I guess there is no such thing as a completely secure job, even at a company like Google.
- zvonimirs 4y agoHorrible. Where I'm from, we call those people uhljebi and they're the worst people to work with since they always look for ways to offload their work to others.
- disfadbish 4y agoThey have always fired people for under performing though.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoAnd large scale layoffs often don't take into account performance (they just cut teams).
- compiler-guy 4y agoUnderperforming people are routinely managed out or just plain let go. It's not unusual at all.
- litoE 4y agoCan I keep my red Swingline stapler?
- JustSomeNobody 4y agoOnly if you move your office to the basement.
- pelagicAustral 4y agoSo if you could go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?
- commandlinefan 4y agoFun fact: when that movie came out, swingline actually didn't make a red stapler - the producers painted a black one red because it showed up better on camera. After the movie came out, demand for red swingline staplers was so high, they started producing them and it became their biggest seller for years.
- hn_throwaway_99 4y agoWow, just wow. I have no doubt that Google has a lot of excess to cut, but IMO I always see it as the death knell for large companies when they start a nickel-and-dime approach to cost cutting. I can certainly see the argument for cuts where they are needed to improve focus, and lots of the FAANGs had too many "frilly" expenses in the past 5-10 years, but cutting expenses that improve your employee's productivity is just totally boneheaded. I'm reminded of when Bernie Ebbers (of WorldCom scandal fame) railed that employees were "stealing coffee" because the amount of coffee used per filter was out of whack - nevermind that WorldCom was about to collapse in a giant accounting fraud. Obviously I don't believe the fraud aspect applies to Google, but the "focusing on the wrong shit" definitely does.
- belter 4y agoGoogle is starting to look like an IT episode of "Triangle of Sadness" - https://youtu.be/VDvfFIZQIuQ https://youtu.be/VDvfFIZQIuQ The rich are the Phds and the Management is a crew asleep at the Helm...suddenly Kubernetes takes a whole new meaning...
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> death knell for large companies when they start a nickel-and-dime approach to cost cutting Nickel and dimming would be requiring approvals and paperwork to buy a stapler. This is Google just not buying them. That seems reasonable at a tech company?
- taeric 4y agoNickel and dimming is when you are looking for cost savings that aren't even rounding errors in operational costs. Quietly not buying things that aren't getting used is fine. Announcing it as a "cost savings action" is borderline nuts in light of what that signals. Note that none of us are discussing the fitness classes. Staples, though? Seriously? How did that make the memo?
- microtherion 4y ago“If you need a stapler or tape, the receptionist desk has them to borrow.” So each stapler use requires, say, a 5 minute detour (minimum, not counting lost focus or queueing) to the receptionist. At Google salaries, that's easily $10 in cost, so it's difficult to conceive how Google is expecting to come out ahead in the bargain.
- willcipriano 4y agoYou'd have to be a master of business to come up with such a brilliant play.
- Rebelgecko 4y agoObligatory mention- https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/amp/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...
- disfadbish 4y agoThe replacement of Patrick and his orange backpack with a Morgan Stanley alum made the leaving Google decision much easier.
- danielfoster 4y agoI’m not a major Google shareholder, but if I were I would fire the management. I’ve never heard of such a large company itemizing an expense as trivial as staplers. It’s pretty clear the company has lost its innovation culture.
- rootusrootus 4y agoMy company (mid sized software company) tried to eliminate plastic spoons from the break rooms. Not for any sort of noble environmental reason, either, but explicitly to cut costs. You can buy them in cases of 1000 for $7.20. I am a shareholder, but not powerful enough to call for the termination of whatever bonehead thought that was worth more than 2 seconds of thought.
- throwayyy479087 4y ago$20 says the company that cared about the spoons had a special bathroom for executives.
- marcosdumay 4y agoYou'll have a hard time finding anybody to take the other side of that deal.
- commandlinefan 4y ago> as trivial as staplers. I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were merry, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...
- TradingPlaces 4y agoCame here for Milton. Was not disappointed.
- 4y ago
- dralley 4y agoGod forbid the profit margin drop a tiny smidge below 25% (in a mature market with more competitors every day), that would be a real catastrophe for the shareholders and, therefore, the company. How do the other 99% of American companies manage? /s
- dmitrygr 4y agoNow that’s just getting petty. How about cutting down on Sundar’s RSU grants? What exactly has he done to deserve them? A stuffed Sundar doll would have done just as well over that last half a decade. He never makes any tough calls. He waits for a consensus to form and then pretends that that was his idea all along. -xoogler who saw him come to power and the complete lack of direction since
- operatingthetan 4y agoThis is a company that provides free food all day, and their first inclination is to cut the tape and staplers? Cutting one meal service across all locations would save a lot more, but maybe that would cause more employees to complain.
- xkbarkar 4y agoYeah no. Free food != superflous staplers. Hard disagree on that one
- operatingthetan 4y agoI'm not suggesting they should do it, but that cutting office supplies seems like kind of a joke or PR motivated move considering their known expenses like food. That said I think it's definitely on the table to cut given the current trend of companies behaving hostile to their employees.
- boringg 4y agoIf this is true Google/Alphabet has really spiraled downward. Such a boneheaded move.
- mikestew 4y agoSurely I can't be the only HN reader that thought, "I can't remember the last time I touched a stapler." Frankly, I think the headline writer threw staplers in there just for the sizzle. If I might so boldly suggest reading TFA, staplers are just one example of other things that made a lot of sense. Yoga classes on a Friday afternoon when a lot of folks WFH (or not at all on a Friday afternoon)? Handing out multi-core full-blown laptops to non-technical roles that could just as easily get by with a Chromebook? Buses running with one passenger? Get a company Google's size, and that stuff starts to add up to real money. So, yeah, Google is swirling the toilet because someone has to walk to the receptionist's desk once a year to get a piece of tape or borrow a stapler. I'd be more worried about a company that just hands out shit that no one uses, without ever once asking if anyone actually uses it.
- rmason 4y agoMy first thought when I saw this story was Milton in the movie Office Space. Google is coming for your stapler!
- yamtaddle 4y ago> Handing out multi-core full-blown laptops to non-technical roles that could just as easily get by with a Chromebook? I have, over and over, seen companies burn the cost of a decent laptop at a rate between one per quarter and one per month per employee because they try to cheap out and the shitware they force on their workers runs like crap on anything that's not fairly powerful, wasting hours per week per employee. Whole divisions at some larger companies lose incredible amounts of money every year over reluctance to give the mere worker-drones nice hardware.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoMy non-technical wife is always pegging her corporate computer running Adobe Creative Suite. I joke with her that she can use it as a heater in winter. Me? The programmer...I barely ever hear my fan.
- phist_mcgee 4y ago
- unsupp0rted 4y agoI remember during a Conan O’Brien chat with Simpsons writers they told how at the height of billions of dollars of ancillary sales of Simpsons merch, the head of production of 20th Century Fox was complaining that the writers were charging up too much in expenses on pretzels. https://youtu.be/DtJ28qOEG1g https://youtu.be/DtJ28qOEG1g at 28:07
- voisin 4y agoBetter to start by cutting the number of chat apps being released in a given year? Probably pay for a lot of staplers hmm?
- wushupork 4y agoA friend of mine worked at a public airline and whenever they had a bad quarter, things like coffee would get cut so people would feel it. But those types of industries operate on razor thin margins.
- absrd 4y agohow did your friend feel it when they had a good quarter?
- Cockbrand 4y agoBuzzed on caffeine, I'd assume.
- ElevenLathe 4y agoProbably they would get free coffee.
- psygn89 4y agoThis made me laugh harder than it should have.
- umeshunni 4y agoEveryone gets an extra coffee for a day
- dpflan 4y agoHm, April Fool's? When will Bard burn things down because its metaverse stapler hasn't been returned?
- skilled 4y agoYou can never rule out the velocity and efficiency - it certainly makes sense. God knows where the velocity would stand if not for this efficient decision.
- annoyingnoob 4y agoWhat does the average Googler even need a stapler for? I haven't used a stapler in years.
- marcosdumay 4y agoIf nobody needs it, why are people asking for them to buy some?
- annoyingnoob 4y agoThat is what I'm asking.
- marcosdumay 4y agoYou honestly want to know what people want a stapler for?
- annoyingnoob 4y agoTPS Reports? Better make sure they have the right cover page. The memo about the cover page went out to everyone.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- neilv 4y agoThis sounds like sending a message to internal culture/HR or to Wall Street.
- 1101010010 4y agoIt's not about cost savings, it's about psychological manipulation of employees as servants to the corporation. Why would they be any exception to its users?
- rdtsc 4y agoI believe that’s the case as well. Some sort of psychological pressure and signaling. “Better not expect any raises, promotions or bonuses”
- ghaff 4y agoI used a stapler at home yesterday though I'm sure I have a great deal of redundant paper-related office stuff I rarely use. I guess the purpose of a company-wide email is to signal "Tighten your belts." But it absolutely makes sense to cut back on supplies that aren't needed as much or don't need to be refreshed as much--or on services that aren't being utilized with fewer people in offices.
- 908B64B197 4y agoThis is all signaling to shareholders that are panic selling because of BARD vs ChatGPT.
- candiodari 3y agoNot to worry, management is on it. They immediately went public and ... https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/8/23590864/google-ai-chatbot-bard-mistake-error-exoplanet-demo https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/8/23590864/google-ai-chatbot...
- mindcrime 4y agoIf I owned any Google stock right now, I'd be thinking hard about selling it. Not because everything here is silly, but just because: A. over the course of 20+ years in this industry I've noticed a trend that when companies start worrying about things like tape dispensers or staplers (or the free coffee in the cafeteria, or the cost of the subsidized sodas in the breakroom, etc) it's almost always a Really Bad Sign for their future. B. (related to A of course) when this stuff starts happening, it tends to send the best employees heading for the doors, either because they feel slighted, and/or because they assume (rightly or not) that the company is spiraling the drain. And the best employees leaving can have exactly the effect of sending the company spiraling down the drain... These things have a way of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies (or at least self-reinforcing negative feedback loops). At best, it's vanishingly rare for this to be harbinger of anything good.
- beauzero 4y agoThis was the #1 lesson I learned from 2000 and the first dotcom bust.
- r00fus 4y agoIn the past 20 years, how many times have we had a low interest rate? Now ZIRP is dead, the incumbency of the USD as the world reserve currency is not a certain thing anymore. Your average company in average times, sure your heuristic makes sense. I'm guessing this will give many other companies the green light to cut back their perks as well. Just a thought - where are all those "best employees" going to go? Everyone is battening the hatches for a recession and VCs don't have tons of cash to hand out for new startups.
- mindcrime 4y agoJust a thought - where are all those "best employees" going to go? The last time I looked there were almost 2 job openings per unemployed person in America. Unemployment right now is around 3.6% which is a slight uptick from other recent numbers, but still close to "historically low" territory. There are jobs out there. Everyone is battening the hatches for a recession and VCs don't have tons of cash to hand out for new startups. I would say it's a bit myopic to think that tech workers can only go to work for tech startups, or even companies that identify as "tech companies". So maybe somebody from Google winds up at John Deere, or Kohls, or Farmer's Insurance, or what-have-you. Now of course there's always going to be those people who have the mindset "I'm too good to work for company that makes tractors, pppffawwww." or whatever. So sure, they might not be rushing to leave unless the flood waters are literally swirling around their ankles. But clearly not everybody is going to fall into that category.
- rejectfinite 4y agoSo dumb to cheap out on laptops and computer equipment for employees. Internal IT just gets a tonne of "my computer slow/out of space" that is impossible to fix without upgrading the hardware...
- spicyusername 4y agoAnd thus the wheel of destiny makes another rotation and Google becomes the next IBM.
- Eumenes 4y agoThis made me LOL
- taftster 4y agoI thought it was common in most companies to have a little "hub" where your office/section/area printers are housed. Here is where you'd normally look to find a stapler, tape, or any other supplies needed for printing. I don't even know who I'd talk to if I needed to borrow a stapler, just find it yourself at the printing kiosk and leave it there for the next guy.
- simonblack 4y agoThe rare insight is that entities start to decline when they have reached their peak.
- Tempest1981 4y agoStrange that the "tape and stapler" part wasn't presented as a modernization effort. They must be trying to send a strong message, that times are dire.