The Google Hiring Freeze Rumor
November 7, 2008
I am in a cold, rainy, far away place, and at lunch I heard about a Google hiring freeze. I find it mildly interesting that a rumor that affects people in Silicon Valley finds its way to this remote place. Google sneezes and the world wonders if the GOOG is getting pneumonia.
The rumor today appears to come from The Register. You can read the story here. Decide for yourself if it is true. Because I am alone with my computer and a better connection than I have in rural Kentucky, I flicked through my compendium of Google personnel and cost saving rumors. If you have any opinions about these rumors, please, use the comments section to share what you think is useful information.
First, there was the rumor of the childcare cut. I stayed out of this issue because child care, health care, educational leave, and related job related perks are often management quagmires. Child care is really a hot topic. Changing a jungle gym can trigger hours of meetings.
Second, there was the rumor about changing the plans for housing on the Moffett Field land. Once again there’s mostly dirt and weeds on the Moffett Field land, so plans are probably in the weird never never land construction jobs go when architects are architecting and the bosses are deciding on dark ivory or parchment for the interior base color.
Third, there was the rumor of no more new Googlers. As hot a topic as this was, it was supported by the segregation of Google rentals from the Google full time equivalents. Reports on this are confused. I can’t tell if the lack of sufficient ping pong tables is a temporary crisis or a firm line of demarcation between classes. I think of Roman senators with the colors on their togas to make sure no citizen would forget who got to sit close to the action in the arena.
Why the worry about a hiring freeze? What Google does is the new tea leaves. The GOOG is maturing and getting more disciplined about its management processes. The sufficiently smart are still hired. As the brain pool gets more shallow, the crazy pace of the post IPO era has to slow.
My bet is that Google is taking multiple actions to control spending. Is this bad? Probably not. Do I care if Google becomes more mature? Nope. Just part of a maturing business in lousy financial climate. Even Googzilla’s have to watch their diet, eat wisely, and avoid risky behavior.
Decide for yourself, however. I am an addled goose.
Stephen Arnold, November 7, 2008
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