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Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

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101–110 of 327 posts

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#101

While I agree that CEOs are overpayed, I think the same applies to software engineers. Software Engineering has been a pay/perk bubble for years that was due for a correction, and like when Elon cut the free gourmet lunches and coffees for Twitter staff, I'm sure the Google engineers will survive. Meanwhile Google's "raters", the army of workers who do the hard work of moderating and testing Google's platforms are ge…

The money has to go somewhere. Why don't you want it to go to the employees?

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#102
post #29

What is the actual point of giving anyone $226m in pay? How would that motivate them to deliver any more..? Ratio of CEO:staff pay at 1000:1!

Why does Buffett get up and go to work in the morning?

To beat competitors, not have tons of beemers for beemer sake. The motivation is relative. The 3 big "robber barons" of the late 1800's use to send each other brag-grams over who was richer.

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#103

I said this in another thread complaining about Pichai: Google 2019 Net Income - $36B 2022 Net Income - $60B If was part of the workforce I would be even more pissed just at the company itself. Laying off 12k and cuts in perks after $60B in net income.

Significant portions of companies like google are parallel structures unrelated to revenue and body shops piled high to buy localised political influence.

Also, layoffs fight inflation which fights higher rates. Low rates would mean amazing things for tech stocks.

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#104
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would someone work for $250m but not work for $150m? Or at that level of wealth work for free. Surely it's just for keeping score

Mr Buffett is 92 years old and works every day and is worth approx $120 billion. In the past 70 years hes had more money than needed for him to decide to give it all up. Why hasn't he?

Why are you asking this question? Is it rhetorical, and if so, what point do you feel you are making?

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#105
post #47

Got to give it to Larry Page and Sergey Brin for having their cake and also eating it. They control ~51% of voting power with shares thanks to owning ~85% of class B shares. They have had the benefit of someone else running the company for 8 years - and increasing the value of it - and now, when things are not looking great, it’s Sundar Pichai who gets the blame, and the focus on his compensation: and not those who s…

While all valid points, the current outrage is driven by the spiking CEO pay while making significant cut backs, this is all set against a wider landscape of belt tightening, a looming recession and the observation that CEOs are earning historically high pay ratios. Those high ratios led Apple shareholders to request a pay cut of their CEO, and that was without poor performance or firing workers.

My take on the OP’s comment was that his salary and bonuses are controlled by the board. As Sergei and Larry have majority control he would not have gotten this without their explicit approval.

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#106
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree about being overpaid. Similar to other professions - engineering and medicine for example - we have a career which requires a dedication to constant learning. We build systems which allow companies to generate billions in revenue and deserve a slice of the pie.

But you have much lower education and time costs, no? >In all, it takes about eight to ten years to become a professional engineer, depending on whether you decide to get a master's degree. >Doctors must complete a four-year undergraduate program, along with four years in medical school and three to seven years in a residency program to learn the specialty they chose to pursue. In other words, it takes between 10 to…

I'm a marketer. I hold a Master's and a couple of Graduate Diplomas. I have a professional designation that requires constant CPD. I spend a significant amount of my time undertaking professional development. I work longer hours and can make a good case that my work has more impact than engineers, and I get paid significantly less than engineers with similar tenure.

I can't see any reasonable argument that engineers are intrinsically worth more, (and I say that as a person that dropped out of Engineering to pursue other opportunities). There might be fewer (good ones) than what the market needs, and this obviously pushes salaries up.

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#107
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree about being overpaid. Similar to other professions - engineering and medicine for example - we have a career which requires a dedication to constant learning. We build systems which allow companies to generate billions in revenue and deserve a slice of the pie.

But you have much lower education and time costs, no? >In all, it takes about eight to ten years to become a professional engineer, depending on whether you decide to get a master's degree. >Doctors must complete a four-year undergraduate program, along with four years in medical school and three to seven years in a residency program to learn the specialty they chose to pursue. In other words, it takes between 10 to…

Have you run into a lot of great software engineers that didn't spend at least that many hours working on their own projects? I don't think you could even pass an internship interview if all you did was go to class for 4 years. (Passing the classes is of course predicated on doing a lot of programming outside of class, if only to have some text files to turn in!)

Most of the job training for this field comes from within. Hours, weeks, years alone with a computer. Nobody sees that, and you don't pay someone to administer it to you. But it's absolutely required.

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#108
post #38

While I agree that CEOs are overpayed, I think the same applies to software engineers. Software Engineering has been a pay/perk bubble for years that was due for a correction, and like when Elon cut the free gourmet lunches and coffees for Twitter staff, I'm sure the Google engineers will survive. Meanwhile Google's "raters", the army of workers who do the hard work of moderating and testing Google's platforms are ge…

Show me another profession that can have such a dramatic impact on the bottom line where your work makes the company 100x-1000x your salary. If anything SWE are underpaid, we should be getting a slice of total business unit revenue. With my last job doing SWE for a bank, I know for a fact that my code saved the company hundreds of thousands dollars just from one project, and I know for a fact that some of my other co…

Well... between Apr 6, 2023 and the time of this post I have single-handedly brought in >1.2MM for the place I work. From initial customer contact to service provided to billing to negotiation (there's always negotiation after billing) to payment received and deposited, me alone. I got a $25 gift card yesterday (along with my [relatively low] regular and overtime pay throughout, of course). And I'm ok with that, tbh. I could get frustrated and envious and bitter, but I also couldn't have done that without the decades of brand awareness and business infrastructure and equipment and facility and support staff keeping all the rest of it going. I see it as that revenue paying the salary of other people so that they can do other things that leave me able to do my part. I refuse to play the "I did the work for this job so I deserve it all" game.

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#109
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would someone work for $250m but not work for $150m? Or at that level of wealth work for free. Surely it's just for keeping score

Mr Buffett is 92 years old and works every day and is worth approx $120 billion. In the past 70 years hes had more money than needed for him to decide to give it all up. Why hasn't he?

It's sad really

Re: Googlers angry about CEO’s $226M pay after cuts in perks and 12,000 layoffs

#110
post #38

While I agree that CEOs are overpayed, I think the same applies to software engineers. Software Engineering has been a pay/perk bubble for years that was due for a correction, and like when Elon cut the free gourmet lunches and coffees for Twitter staff, I'm sure the Google engineers will survive. Meanwhile Google's "raters", the army of workers who do the hard work of moderating and testing Google's platforms are ge…

Show me another profession that can have such a dramatic impact on the bottom line where your work makes the company 100x-1000x your salary. If anything SWE are underpaid, we should be getting a slice of total business unit revenue. With my last job doing SWE for a bank, I know for a fact that my code saved the company hundreds of thousands dollars just from one project, and I know for a fact that some of my other co…

You've just described what Marx identified 150 years ago.
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