As Christmas Bonus, Google Hands Out "Dogfood" 366
theodp writes "You know times are tough when the best place to work in America replaces holiday bonuses with a request for unpaid labor. Blaming the economic crisis, Google management has canceled the traditional cash holiday bonus — reportedly as much as $20K-$30K per Googler — and substituted an unlocked Google Android cell phone, retail price $400. An accompanying email calls for employees to celebrate the 'chance for us to once again dogfood a product and make it even better!'" Update: 12/23 01:09 GMT by KD : A reader pointed out that comments to the article note a couple of inaccuracies: the Android phone being offered is an unlocked dev model, which goes for $400; and the reporter may have confused holiday bonuses with performance bonuses. The former have traditionally been in the range of $1,000, according to two comments.
google has been cutting back all year (Score:5, Interesting)
Google has been cutting back on perks all year. They haven't had any layoffs yet, but only because they've been canceling contractors. There's a reasonably chance they'll have to reduce employee head count next year.
Bonus (Score:3, Interesting)
reportedly as much as $20K-$30K per Googler
Hey. I google therefore I am a googler. Where is my $30K bonus?
Seriously, have Google in the past given Christmas bonuses worth that much? I think I am in the wrong line of work...
Love it... (Score:4, Interesting)
Typical of the post dot-com environment. People need to start looking at what the phrase total compensation means, and take it to mean "salary + bonuses + stock" Take your cash incentives (salary, bonuses) add in HR benefits (health/dental/optical) plus all the other discounted benefits (daycare, gyms, educational reimbursement etc..) and then the stock purchase plans (either awarded options or ESPP) and 401k.
Well, Google's stock isn't doing too well this year (from $716 down to $300), so there are quite a few people that are thinking, "The stock needs to triple before my options are above water...". Now if the choice from senior management is either no bonuses, or layoffs; most people will take no bonus rather than no job.
I do think giving a phone is just a form of lip service and is a slap in the face. Can you imagine Cisco giving out Linksys routers instead of bonuses? Apple giving out $200 worth of iTunes songs? HomeDepot giving out a free Ryobi drill set?
What really blows my mind is that most people choose their phone because of features/functionality and service provider. The actual cost of the phone itself usually isn't a factor since the service providers often give them away at a severely discounted price.
Re:This just in.. (Score:5, Interesting)
You naysayers and pessimists! How about instead looking around and seeing a company that still gives a Christmas bonus to it's employees - and congratulate them. A nice shiny new cellphone that you can do anything with is still a nice gift. Yes, it might not be as good as getting a few grand, but looking around at the financial state of the world at the moment, getting a phone might be a heck of a lot better than getting shit-canned as so many banking employees are looking at right now.
In other news, how many people mocking this gift today are actually getting something BETTER given to them as a Christmas bonus?
The company I currently work for combines a short term incentive plan/bonus into the package, and yes, the bonus can be easily around 15K per year - but this is part of the package when you sign up. Apart from that, other companies that I have worked for have given out the following:
1) A $7 fruit cake.
2) A nice christmas party with around $50 bartab for each person.
3) A cruise on the harbour with a very nice dinner payed for by the company.
4) Nothing.
Looking back on those, I wouldn't have minded getting a (by all accounts) pretty decent phone.
I Work at Google... (Score:1, Interesting)
... and frankly this story (like most on Valleywag) is ridiculous. 20-30k as a year-end _Christmas_ bonus? Come on, people. If that were true, you would have heard about _that_ in prior years.
There is a small seed of truth. Prior years, the bonus was given in cash, but for a comparatively (but still generous) amount. Was it more than the cost of an unlocked G1 (~$400)? Sure, but those years were also better. There are gifts, not entitlements.
It was still a very nice gesture. None of us are promised Xmas bonus. A lot of friends don't get jack-sh*t in terms of bonus. Heck quite a few have even lost their job.
So count me in the grateful pile. I'm still glad I have my job & that that job is at Google.
Re:I'd still take a job with them. (Score:3, Interesting)
If you're in IT, start looking for another gig. It seems (from anecdotal evidence from several people) that IT hasn't been that battered by the recession.
the term 'googlers' annoys the hell out of me (Score:2, Interesting)
its NOT cute and your employees are not children.
'googlers'. sigh. 'cute pet names' for employees went out the window years ago.
endearing names intended to make you feel special only make you look like some closed insider's club.
its silly and you know it.
Re:the term 'googlers' annoys the hell out of me (Score:5, Interesting)
'cute pet names' for employees went out the window years ago.
You've never been to a strip club haven't you?
the major take away from this article (Score:2, Interesting)
This is a non-story.
Is: "Google gives employees 400$ google phone for christmas instead of 1000$ cash bonus",interesting at all?
Re:Just as I said earlier (Score:3, Interesting)
I also said writes a piece of software, not use a particular OS or tool. But way to take my words out of context.
Re:This just in.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:This just in.. (Score:4, Interesting)
I got a cheap company emblazoned sweatshirt for my Xmas bonus (only I haven't gotten it yet, some delay in shipping, apparently.) The last two years' sweatshirts fell apart after only a few washings.
That after going over and above my job duties to the point where I was told to slow down. Apparently my company doesn't like people actually doing their jobs to greater than the description. Fucks with the budget paperwork. We can't spend money on such extravagant things as new hallway heaters and emergency lighting.
I work in housing apartment maintenance - for subsidized housing - and most of our tenants are college students, and too many of them aren't very appreciative of how hard a lot of us grunts work to keep their living places warm and comfortable. Be lucky you have what you do.
We don't get paid much, for jack of all trades (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, sheetrock, cleaning, snow removal, etc) work; ten bucks an hour out here even for more than a decade's experience - so all you students and others living in sub housing out there, show some appreciation for the people who keep your places up for you. 24/7 on-call means that if someone lights a grease fire while cooking the bacon, or someone's kid puts a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet and floods the bathroom, we have to be there, holiday or not.
So give us a chocolate, or something ;-D ... and fer chrissakes don't call us on Xmas day because you left your keys laying on the floor at some bar the night before! We'll be there, but we'll be a bit irritated ;)
Merry Christmas!
SB
Re:eBay? Nope. Google management forbids it! (Score:3, Interesting)
That this e-mail is now public makes me weep for my species. Google's famous tight-lippedness to outsiders is a direct consequence of its slightly less famous wide-openness to employees, which is a critical part of Google's internal culture.
I can't even imagine what went through the mind of the person who leaked this. Whining about getting a $400 smartphone instead of $1000 cash — in the midst of an economic crisis that might or might not impact Google's bottom line in the coming year — is perhaps, maybe appropriate on an internal mailing list (if over-the-top and coming off as a spoiled brat). But it's not a f***ing whistle-blow against wrongdoing, worthy of phoning the news media — or, for that matter, ridiculous rumor mills like Valleywag.
($20K in physical paper cash? Where the hell did they get that number? I want to find Valleywag's parallel universe and work for that Google! ... except that I suspect the Google in that universe has a goatee, so maybe not.)
Re:who cares (Score:5, Interesting)
but in a slowing economy, advertising budgets are going to be one of the last to be completely eliminated in hopes of attracting more customers.
I don't think you've ever worked in an advertising-related field. Advertising is often the "canary in the coalmine" - when things are going bad, advertising is often the first expense to be slashed. When an economy is recovering, advertising is often the first to benefit.
Re:Best place to work in America? (Score:2, Interesting)
Advertising that I'm a girl on Slashdot since 2008.
What gender were you before 2008?
Re:Just as I said earlier (Score:3, Interesting)
As I recall, that comment was in relation to switching HotMail from FreeBSD to Windows NT 4. This migration failed and was reverted. They later migrated it to Windows 2003 (I think), but it kept running FreeBSD for a long time after they bought it. I wonder how long Yahoo! would have kept running (and contributing to) FreeBSD if Microsoft had bought it...
Inside the rest of Microsoft, they always used Windows (and DOS before then). They originated the 'eating your own dogfood' line, because it's their policy for developers to have to run the latest nightly build. This makes developers who commit code without testing very unpopular.
I, for one, am a happy Googler (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally, I am very happy to receive the dev G1 phone... It wasn't something I would have purchased for myself (tough economic times ahead yadda yadda yadda) nor was it something that I would have asked anyone else to get for me. It gives me the opportunity to play with it and maybe develop a few stupid little applications, just for fun: It will be a much appreciated toy for Christmas.
Will it replace my old phone? Don't know yet. It is a lot bulkier than my Samsung Trace. For now, I'm giving it a test-drive.
In any case, this is the most valuable Christmas bonus that I have received in recent years - so I kinda feel that anyone complaining about it are kinda being ungrateful. I am used to getting perhaps a company-branded backpack, shot glass, towel or USB pen drive as a Christmas bonus from my previous employer so this phone gift is positively extravagant by comparison. Even considering that I occasionally worked long hours and was key in developing a few features which formed the foundation of my then-CEO's promise, I appreciated the small token gifts and I still enjoy using them today.
I never expected, nor did I ever receive, a large bonus from my previous employer.
I never expected any bonus from Google this year, especially considering the current economy.
Just my 2c opinion..