Google to close 3 engineering offices, lay off staff
Posted by Alisa Zykova on January 16, 2009 at 5:39 PM
Search engine giant Google Inc. announced Wednesday that it will shut down three engineering offices and laying off 100 recruiters as a result of the economic slump, the Associated Press reported late Thursday.
The Internet firm also intends to close engineering offices in Austin, Texas; Lulea, Sweden and Trondheim, Norway, affecting 70 people.
The Internet firm also intends to close engineering offices in Austin, Texas; Lulea, Sweden and Trondheim, Norway, affecting 70 people.
"Our strong desire is to keep as many of these 70 engineering employees at Google as possible," said Alan Eustace, Google vice president for engineering and research, according to the AP. "Our long-term goal is not to trim the number of people we have working on engineering projects or reduce our global presence, but create a smaller number of more effective engineering sites."
Google Vice President Laszlo Bock pointed out that his company does not need as many people in the hiring field in light of the current financial crisis. The job cuts announced Wednesday amount to under 1 percent of the firm's total 20,1000 work force. However, Google's "worker-friendly reputation" may be harmed, the AP article stated.
The company reported a government filing last week mentioning "significant" cuts in temporary employees in order to save money. Nearly two months ago Google said it would be minimising contract staff but would keep full-time workers, the AP reported.
Google's advertising revenue has been dropping as online shopping decreases and ad spend plunges, according to the AP. While research and development and acquisitions will not decline at the company, it said that financial backing and engineers will fall across certain projects. In addition, Google will be minimising applications such as Google Notebook or Jaiku and closing sites like Dogeball.com. Google Video will no longer be accepting user-generated material.
Google shares dropped US$1.98 to close at US$298.99 on Thursday.
Google Vice President Laszlo Bock pointed out that his company does not need as many people in the hiring field in light of the current financial crisis. The job cuts announced Wednesday amount to under 1 percent of the firm's total 20,1000 work force. However, Google's "worker-friendly reputation" may be harmed, the AP article stated.
The company reported a government filing last week mentioning "significant" cuts in temporary employees in order to save money. Nearly two months ago Google said it would be minimising contract staff but would keep full-time workers, the AP reported.
Google's advertising revenue has been dropping as online shopping decreases and ad spend plunges, according to the AP. While research and development and acquisitions will not decline at the company, it said that financial backing and engineers will fall across certain projects. In addition, Google will be minimising applications such as Google Notebook or Jaiku and closing sites like Dogeball.com. Google Video will no longer be accepting user-generated material.
Google shares dropped US$1.98 to close at US$298.99 on Thursday.
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