Google employees upset because CEO got a raise

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Thursday, May 4, 2023 09:36 (GMT+7)
5 hours ago

Google CEO Sundar Pichai's compensation has continued to rise steadily, even as the company has had to cut operating costs due to disappointing revenue.

Mr. Sundar Pichai is one of the highest paid CEOs in the US. Photo: Bloomberg .

According to CNBC , Mr. Sundar Pichai received a big raise last year and became one of the highest paid CEOs in the US.

Meanwhile, Alphabet, Google's parent company, has had to continuously cut operating costs, including laying off 12,000 employees, to cope with slowing growth.

Many Google employees were outraged by this. Since Pichai’s compensation became public, the company’s internal platforms have been flooded with criticism and ridicule of the CEO.

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Pichai was paid a total of $226 million last year, mainly through a $218 million stock grant he receives every three years.

In addition, in 2022, the 50-year-old CEO will receive an additional $6 million for personal security and $2 million in base salary.

At other tech companies, executives have voluntarily taken pay cuts.

Apple CEO Tim Cook took a 40% pay cut in January. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan took a 98% pay cut after laying off 1,300 employees. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson said he would take a pay cut as the company’s workforce shrank by 17%.

Frustration grew when Google said it planned to buy back $70 billion worth of stock, a sign that the Alphabet subsidiary has cash on hand to fund operations and investments.

A flood of employee memes has filled Google’s internal discussion forums, with many images garnering hundreds or thousands of likes.

A meme with more than 1,200 likes referenced Google CFO Ruth Porat’s announcement that the company would cut employee services, including computers, fitness classes and cafeteria supplies.

“Ruth's cost-saving plan applies to everyone except VPS and our hardworking CEO,” one meme read.

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Thanh Vu

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