Terrible news. Google, whose nurturing, loving, perk-heavy corporate culture has long been the envy of emotionally abused cubicle-dwelling schlubs everywhere, has found itself, in the face of the recession, needing to cut back on some of the good things:
In recent months, it reduced the hours of its free cafeteria service and suspended the traditional afternoon tea in its New York office.
Horrors. They’ve also begun reconsidering those weird, awesome little projects they do for no reason, “stopped the pell-mell hiring of virtually any employee who met its qualifications, focusing instead on adding heads only where they were needed,” cut back on contract workers, and have hired a new CFO who is trained in something called “Six Sigma” management practices, “a rigid quality-control system designed to eliminate waste.” Ew, Office Space. This is a depressing blow for workers everywhere. If Google becomes just like any other office, what will there be left for us to aspire to? What’s next, cutbacks in heaven?
Google Gears Down for Tougher Times [WSJ]
