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Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

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Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#61

Sundar should have been let go years ago, but I guess the pandemic money explosion made it easy for him to show big returns. But look between the margins and it's clear google is rotting on the inside. Search sucks. Gemini a year behind (despite google inventing transformers). Canceling products left and right leaving no consumer faith in new offerings. Cloud platform being an absolute terrible experience, even if yo…

Unless you look at things with the money lense. Seems to me Search must be yielding like crazy. Android is too. User trust is high. Youtube is booming even though tiktok. I think the man is doing great. At least he is printing real money.

>Seems to me Search must be yielding like crazy. Android is too. User trust is high. Youtube is booming even though tiktok.

None of which have been built or even improved during his tenure. He's just cashing in on the momentum of the money printers built by those before him. The products shipped under him had flopped.

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#62
post #9

What does Google even do anymore? I can't think of any innovation they've made in the past five years or so? Anyone?

Waymo, Google Brain, and now DeepMind (acquired).

Google Brain is like the Betamax of the 2010s.

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#63
> “Improve company velocity, efficiency, and productivity, and deliver durable cost savings,” said one of the seven stated goals

> The top goal on Google’s list was to “deliver the world’s most advanced, safe, and responsible AI.”

> The cost-cutting moves came as Google pours more resources into its heated competition with Microsoft-backed OpenAI

So are they reducing headcount so that they can buy a load more A100s or whatever? Or is this being demanded by shareholders? How does the means connect with the objective(s)?

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#64

Google search has gotten so bad I’m genuinely considering trying bing

There seems to be this weird A/B test going on right now that is ruining search even more.

For example on my account I do not have the auto-calculator capabilities nor does "My IP" return a valid result.

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#65
post #57

Sundar should have been let go years ago, but I guess the pandemic money explosion made it easy for him to show big returns. But look between the margins and it's clear google is rotting on the inside. Search sucks. Gemini a year behind (despite google inventing transformers). Canceling products left and right leaving no consumer faith in new offerings. Cloud platform being an absolute terrible experience, even if yo…

Wait a minute! Hire thousands of half genius from the best Universities in the World.Torture them with algorithmic party tricks, give them infinite budget and time for years... And....When they are unable to create competitive products outside of the usual cash cow, blame the CEO?

CEO did not know this was happening? The company is (sadly) it's leadership

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#66
post #50

Google search has gotten so bad I’m genuinely considering trying bing

I've switched to Kagi a year ago and haven't looked back. I've tried Bing and DDG before and went back to Google immediately. Not so with Kagi, since switching over to it I've googled less than a handful of times. Seriously, try it.

I second this, Kagi is amazing.

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#67
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait a minute! Hire thousands of half genius from the best Universities in the World.Torture them with algorithmic party tricks, give them infinite budget and time for years... And....When they are unable to create competitive products outside of the usual cash cow, blame the CEO?

CEO did not know this was happening? The company is (sadly) it's leadership

And a Coach gets the wind behind the wings from its Players.

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#68

Google is still a juggernaut BUT... I don't think anyone here would claim competitor's "AI" isn't going to take a chunk of their search market, would they? Search quality was diminishing for the past few years as it is, but there was no real alternative. Now I'm using ChatGPT as much (or more) than Google. Almost everything about Google Search is mediocre.

Superior technology is not enough to win. For the most part, people are happy with Google, it integrates well into all that various surfaces folks use, etc. ChatGPT had a lot of hype and seemed the closest to getting mind share to the point where it would affect search usage, but from what I can tell, it's not made a dent. Anecdotes from the bubble of technologists don't really speak to the wider trends anymore. Thin…

Assuming there's competition, doesn't dominating a market mean your product is the new mediocre? Competitors will try to compete on price but be low quality, compete on quality but be high priced, and you're in the sweet big middle spot?

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#69

Can anyone name one thing of value this dude has actually done in his time in charge. Feel in a few years he's gonna have a worse reputation than Ballmer in terms of squandering potential.

Stock went up ~18% per year since Oct 2015. Does anything else matter to Pichai's bosses (board & shareholders)?

Re: Google cites 'durable cost savings' as CEO Sundar Pichai warns of more layoffs

#70

Sundar should have been let go years ago, but I guess the pandemic money explosion made it easy for him to show big returns. But look between the margins and it's clear google is rotting on the inside. Search sucks. Gemini a year behind (despite google inventing transformers). Canceling products left and right leaving no consumer faith in new offerings. Cloud platform being an absolute terrible experience, even if yo…

Sundar is coming out as inspiring as Ray Ozzie, let's put it this way
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