Top Google executives addressed workers and answered questions about jobs while dressed in Halloween costumes. The company’s top management has been subtly implying cost cuts, which may result in mass layoffs.
Google executives answer questions about jobs while wearing Halloween costumes
The top management at Google held a rather weird meeting. The senior executives were reportedly trying to assuage fears about job cuts to reduce costs.
Specifically speaking, Google’s chief scientist, Jeff Dean, wore a starfish costume. CFO Anat Ashkenazi wore a sports jersey of former Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller. And top boss CEO Sundar Pichai wore a T-shirt that read “ERROR 404 COSTUME NOT FOUND” with an image of a pixelated dinosaur.
A Google spokesperson stated that top executives answered around 20 questions. They covered a wide range of topics, particularly those concerning cost efficiency. However, answering Google workers about jobs and cost cuts while wearing Halloween costumes could be considered a bold decision.
The all-hands meeting took place just a day after Google’s parent company Alphabet held a earnings call with some investors, shareholders, and employees. Google and Alphabet CFO Anat Ashkenazi, reportedly proclaimed she wanted to “push a little further” with cost savings across the company.
Is Alphabet cutting costs because it is struggling?
During the discussion about the company’s earnings posted late Tuesday, Alphabet stated revenue increased 15% to $88.27 billion. Simply put, Alphabet reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue.
Such positive news helped Alphabet’s stock price jump in the stock market. However, the CFO’s words must have left a haunting impression. Additionally, Ashkenazi said one of her key priorities in the new role would be to make more cuts. The CFO did not specify if she wanted to cut jobs or costs.
Google isn’t hiding the fact that it is betting big on Artificial Intelligence. However, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) needs a lot of investment in hardware. This means the company has to allocate a lot of resources to infrastructure development, which may mean cutting costs in other departments.
Google has already made substantial cuts to its marketing, cloud, and security teams, particularly in Silicon Valley. It has reduced expenditure on its trust and safety unit as well. Moreover, the company has to bear the expenses of multiple legal battles and employees aren’t even allowed to talk about them.