On the evening of September 23, Beijing time, it was reported that at Google's "general meeting" this week, employees expressed dissatisfaction with the company's recent series of cost cutting measures, while CEO Sundar Pichai responded that fun should not always be equated with money.
据报道,北京时间9月23日晚间,在谷歌本周,“全员大会”此外,员工对公司最近的一系列降低成本的措施表示不满,但员工对公司最近的一系列降低成本措施表示不满。CEO桑达尔・皮查伊(SundarPichai)回应说,不要总是把幸福等同于金钱。
At the staff meeting, Google employees raised a series of thorny issues to Pichai, including reducing travel and entertainment budgets, improving productivity, and potential layoffs. One of the questions is: Google has basically come out of the epidemic. Why cut costs when the company has record profits and huge cash reserves?
在全体员工会议上,谷歌员工向皮查伊提出了一系列棘手的问题,包括减少旅游娱乐预算、提高生产力和隐性裁员。其中一个问题是:谷歌基本上已经从疫情中走出来了。为什么要在公司有创纪录收入和高现金储备的情况下降低成本?
Pichai's reply was very cautious. He said: "What should I say? I hope all of you have seen this news through external channels. In fact, under the current very bad macroeconomic conditions, we have become more responsible. I believe that as a company, it is important for everyone to work together to get through this moment."
皮查伊的回答非常谨慎,他说:“我该怎么说?我希望你们都能通过外部渠道看到这些消息。事实上,在当前宏观经济条件非常糟糕的情况下,我们变得更加负责任。我认为,作为一家公司,共同度过这样的时刻尤为重要。”
At present, Google, Meta and other technology companies are facing a series of economic challenges, including potential economic recession, soaring inflation, rising interest rates and reduced advertising spending. For more than a decade, these technology companies have been known for high growth and many interesting benefits, but now they are running in the opposite direction.
目前,谷歌、Meta与其他科技公司一样,也面临着一系列的经济挑战,包括隐藏的经济衰退、通胀飙升、利率上升和广告费用下降。在过去的十年里,这些科技公司以其高增长和许多有趣的福利而闻名,但现在却恰恰相反。
In the second quarter of this year, Google's parent company Alphabet's profits and revenues were lower than expected for the second consecutive quarter. The revenue growth in the third quarter is expected to fall to single digits, much lower than 40% in the same period last year. Pichai acknowledged that Google is challenged not only by economic problems, but also by the deteriorating bureaucracy.
今年第二季度,谷歌母公司Alphabet第二季度的利润和收入继续低于预期。第三季度的收入增长预计将降至个位数,远低于去年同期的40%以上。皮查伊承认,给谷歌带来挑战的不仅仅是金钱问题,还有日益恶化的官僚制度。
Earlier this month, Mr. Pichai hinted at layoffs. He said he hoped to improve the efficiency of the company by 20%. In view of a series of challenges currently faced and Google's continuous recruitment over the years, this may include layoffs.
本月早些时候,皮查伊暗示要裁员。他说,他希望提高公司的效率20%。鉴于一系列挑战和谷歌多年来的持续招聘,这可能包括裁员。
At the plenary meeting this week, Pichai explained the issue that the employees were concerned about. He said: "You may be a team of 20 or 100 people, and our growth will be limited on the basis of looking forward to the future. Maybe you originally planned to hire 6 more people, but in the end you may only hire 4 people. How to achieve this goal? Different teams will give different answers."
在本周的全员会议上,皮查伊解释了员工关心的问题。“你可能是一个20人或100人的团队,我们的增长将在展望未来的基础上受到限制。也许你计划再雇6个人,但最终你只能雇4个人。如何实现这一目标?不同的团队会给出不同的答案。”
Speaking of cost cutting, Pichai also said that although some benefits have been canceled, Google's culture can still be pleasant. He said: "I still remember when Google was small, everyone had high morale. We should not always equate fun with money. I think you can look at a startup company that works hard. People may be happy, but it should not always be equated with money."
在谈到降低成本时,皮查伊还表示,尽管一些福利被取消,但谷歌的文化仍然令人愉快。“我还记得谷歌很小的时候,每个人都有很高的士气。我们不应该总是把幸福等同于金钱。我想你可以看看一家努力工作的初创公司,你可能很高兴,但这不应该总是相当于金钱。”
Another concern of employees is: Why does the management require employees to abide by the policy of returning to the office, and also say that they do not need to travel in person? Pichai responded: "I also understand that some travel restrictions are not ideal in the current environment. Therefore, we do not completely restrict travel, and we give the team discretion."
员工关心的另一个问题是:为什么管理层要求员工遵循回办公室的政策,并说他们不需要亲自出差?皮查伊回应说:“我也明白,在目前的环境下,一些旅游限制并不理想。因此,我们没有完全限制旅游,我们给予团队自由裁量权。”