Search engine giant Google made headlines when it offered an employee a staggering 300% hike in salary to prevent them from leaving for Perplexity AI.

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, shared this remarkable instance on the Big Technology Podcast, shedding light on the lengths to which big tech companies are willing to go in order to retain their employees. Srinivas, an alumnus of IIT-Madras, highlighted the intense competition and the significant efforts made by tech giants to keep their talent from moving to other companies.

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Srinivas revealed that the employee who received the massive salary hike was a member of the ‘search team’ and did not directly work in the AI division of Google.

Furthermore, Srinivas addressed the issue of layoffs in the tech industry, stating that companies often target employees with high salaries who do not significantly contribute to productivity.

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The year 2024 witnessed a surge in layoffs, with tens of thousands of individuals losing their jobs, including 32,000 roles cut by the tech industry alone.

Recently, Google CEO Sundar Pichai cautioned employees about potential job cuts, emphasizing the need to make difficult decisions in order to create capacity for investments.

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In an internal memo, Pichai mentioned the company’s ambitious goals and the necessity to make tough choices to enable significant investments. He highlighted the need to create capacity for these investments, implying further job cuts in the future.

Since the beginning of the year, Google has let go of over a thousand employees across different departments.

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In 2023, Pichai announced plans to reduce around 12,000 jobs, which accounts for approximately 6% of the company’s global workforce. This included layoffs in various divisions and teams, including those responsible for developing new technology, advertising, hardware, and augmented reality.