Google asks some employees to share desks amid office downsizing

Google is asking unreality employees and partners to stock their desks and alternate days with their desk-mates starting adjacent quarter, citing "real property efficiency," CNBC has learned.

The caller desk-sharing exemplary volition use to Google Cloud's 5 largest U.S. locations — Kirkland, Washington; New York; San Francisco; Seattle and Sunnyvale, Calif. — and is happening truthful the institution "can proceed to put successful Cloud’s growth," according to an interior FAQ precocious shared with unreality employees and viewed by CNBC. Some buildings volition beryllium vacated arsenic a result, the papers notes. 

“Most Googlers volition present stock a table with 1 different Googler,” the interior papers states, noting that they expect employees to travel successful connected alternate days truthful they're not astatine the aforesaid table connected the aforesaid day. “Through the matching process, they volition hold connected a basal table setup and found norms with their table spouse and teams to guarantee a affirmative acquisition successful the caller shared environment.”

For anyone coming successful connected their unassigned days, they volition usage “overflow drop-in space.”

Internally, enactment has fixed the caller seating statement a title: “Cloud Office Evolution” oregon “CLOE," which it describes arsenic “combining the champion of pre-pandemic collaboration with the flexibility” from hybrid work. The caller workspace program is not a impermanent pilot, the papers notes. “This volition yet pb to much businesslike usage of our space.”

Google besides utilized its interior information it has connected it its worker bureau instrumentality patterns to pass the decision, the FAQ stated. In summation to slower bureau instrumentality patterns, the institution has slowed hiring and laid off 11,000 employees successful January. 

Memes started showing up successful the company's meme level Memegen, poking amusive astatine the alteration — specifically targeting the "corpspeak" utilized by enactment to tout the caller table statement successful what they viewed to beryllium a cost-cutting measure.

"Not each cost-cutting measurement needs to beryllium connection mangled into sounding bully for employees," 1 fashionable meme work layered connected a photograph of a vertebrate putting his manus connected his head. "A elemental 'We are cutting bureau abstraction to trim costs' would marque enactment dependable much believable."

Google did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

The determination comes arsenic Google downsizes its existent property footprint amid broader cost-cutting. However, it hasn’t yet specified regions oregon buildings it plans connected downsizing.

In its Q4 2022 earnings call, Google executives said it expects to incur costs of astir $500 cardinal related to reduced planetary bureau abstraction successful Q1, and warned that different real-estate charges are imaginable going forward. Earlier this month, SFGate reported the institution volition beryllium ending leases for “a fig of unoccupied spaces” successful the San Francisco Bay Area, the portion wherever its office are located.  

The unreality unit, which makes up much than a 4th of Google’s full-time workforce, is among the highest-growth areas astatine the company, but is not profitable.

In the 4th quarter, Google Cloud brought successful $7.32 billion, increasing 32% from the anterior year, considerably faster than the company's wide maturation complaint of little than10%. But that gross fig was little than Wall Street statement expected, and the Cloud concern is inactive losing hundreds of millions of dollars each 4th — $480 cardinal successful Q4, though that was astir fractional of the nonaccomplishment a twelvemonth prior.

Overall, however, Google earned $13.62 cardinal successful nett income during the quarter, and $59.97 cardinal for each of 2022. Both were important drops from 2021.

Under the caller arrangement, teams of 200 to 300 employees “and partners” volition beryllium organized into “neighborhoods,” that whitethorn besides see “partner teams that are a portion of different organizations, specified arsenic Finance, People Operations, etc,” the FAQ read. Each vicinity volition person a VP oregon manager who volition beryllium liable for allocating abstraction successful the neighborhood. 

Employees volition mostly alternate days they’re successful the office, either Monday and Wednesday, oregon Tuesday and Thursday. They volition beryllium successful 2 days a week, a alteration from the institution requiring employees to travel successful 3 days a week.

“Neighborhood leads are encouraged to acceptable norms with their teams astir sharing desks, ensuring that pairings of Googlers person conversations astir however they volition oregon volition not decorate the space, store idiosyncratic items, and tidiness expectations.”

In addition, the FAQ said that employees with machine workstations volition nary longer person those workstations located straight nether their desks, but alternatively volition person to look up its determination successful a database oregon enactment successful a summons for troubleshooting. Over time, employees are expected to modulation to CloudTop, a virtual desktop instrumentality that's truthful acold reserved lone for Google employees.

The FAQ said it volition besides beryllium putting a headdress connected fig of rooms to beryllium taken for meetings, noting league rooms are “already hard to book.” Employees volition beryllium discouraged from “camping” successful a league room, it adds.

As for Covid-19, desks volition beryllium sanitized regular and employees volition get a notification if idiosyncratic successful their country tests affirmative and reports it to Google.