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Google laying off contractors to cut costs

"FYI, Google is about to layoff all of their temp/contract recruiters to do some cost cutting," whispers a tipster. We knew it had to happen sometime, but didn't Google exec Marissa Mayer just say laying off surplus employees would indicate Google has become "too dry, too corporate, too much about making money."? Oh, wait. That was her defense for keeping around the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button which costs the company $110 million a year, by some estimates. Mayer's no efficiency expert, so let's not rely on her opinions. Laying off recruiters, people who get paid for adding bodies willy-nilly, is a sensible first step to curing Google's hiring bloat. Next, how about some executives?

9:17 AM on Wed Dec 5 2007
By Nicholas Carlson
3,584 views
7 comments

Comments

mobilemadman at 09:36 AM on 12/05/07
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um... How exactly do you 'lay off' contractors? Wouldn't being employed by Google be a prerequisite for being laid off by them?
cowsandmilk at 10:50 AM on 12/05/07
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@mobilemadman: a) not all contractors are through agencies. b) if it is through an agency, you tell them you want to cut the number of positions and who you want gone. Not that hard.
scoopster at 11:00 AM on 12/05/07
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Giving the all Google temp recruiters the boot just before Christmas…not a very "Googley" move…"don't be evil" Google…bah humbug!
sample032 at 11:19 AM on 12/05/07
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Normally, I'd say this is a sign that the bubble is coming to an end. What's different, here, is that GOOG is only moderately overpriced, and they have a solid core business model. The problem with Google is that they're growing to quickly, especially into areas that aren't profitable, i.e. Web 2.0. This is where the overhiring was.
sample032 at 11:36 AM on 12/05/07
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@sample032: I should clarify.

I think that as people see Web 2.0 isn't profitable, the Web 2.0 bubble is coming to an end, in this case, the internal bubble at Google.

That said, I don't think Google, as a while, is a bubble.
0x6772 at 11:40 AM on 12/05/07
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They're shitcanning *recruiters*? Really, good riddance.
cv at 03:02 PM on 12/05/07
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Perhaps Google is doing it to reset the clock back to zero for these contractors. These days, there's a lot more scrutiny on how long a contractor has been around before he/she can start making legitimate claims of basically being a regular employee minus the benefits.

Google could easily terminate contracts on Thursday, December 20 (or Friday, December 21) and offer new contracts starting Monday January 7. If Google decides to shut down its offices that short three-day week between Christmas and New Year's, they will also save a bunch on utilities.