Google employees may be disappointed to find out that the company has eliminated some of its office snacks such as dried mango, Maui-onion chips, and M&Ms as part of an effort to cut costs. Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Google’s parent company Alphabet, spoke out in January 2021 to warn staff of further rollbacks as the company was also laying off 12,000 employees.
In order to save on operating costs, Google has reduced the hours of its in-office cafeterias, let go of 31 on-site massage therapists, altered the schedules for fitness classes and shuttle services, as well as limited the number of times laptops can be replaced. Furthermore, happy hours and team social functions also no longer exist. Since the post-pandemic reopening of offices, Google has stopped providing lavish buffet spreads and instead installs micro-kitchens with snacks such as pork rinds and Brazilian flower buds.
Despite the cost-cutting elimination of these snacks and perks, Google maintains that they have a “high bar for industry-leading perks, benefits and office amenities”, a spokesperson Ryan Lamont told The Atlantic. The hope is that taking away these amenities still allows the company to invest elsewhere, such as in its Artificial Intelligence products, in order to lead to long-term, profitable growth.
Google is an American multinational technology company specializing in internet-related services and products. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998. The two were Ph.D. students at Stanford University when they gave the idea for a search engine that became Google. Google provides services such as cloud computing, digital marketing, search engine optimization, and other services that benefit individuals and businesses.
Ruth Porat is the chief financial officer and executive vice president of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. She was formerly chief financial officer at Morgan Stanley and also served as an advisor to the US Treasury during President Obama’s tenure. Prior to that, Porat was the Financial Officer at Google. She joined Google in 2015 to help lead the company’s financial efforts and investments. Since joining Google, she has implemented a variety of cost-saving strategies and is trusted leader at the company.
