Global Courant 2023-05-04 05:48:18
Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a panel at the CEO Summit of the Americas hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on June 9, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. The CEO Summit entered its second day with a formal signing of the “International Coalition to Connect Marine Protected Areas” and a speech from US President Joe Biden. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Geldmaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Google CEO Sundar Pichai received a hefty pay rise last year, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in America. Last week, his company announced the approval of a $70 billion share buyback.
Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet has aggressively cut costs, including cutting 12,000 jobs, in response to slowing revenue growth.
That confluence of events has angered Google staff. In the weeks since Pichai’s annual fee was made public, internal Google platforms have filled with conversations and memes criticizing the CEO for getting a raise while cutting costs elsewhere. Some employees also criticized the share buyback, which was equivalent to the buyback in 2022.
SEC filings showed that Pichai received a total of $226 million last year, primarily through a share price of $218 million, which he receives every three years. The last time he received the award was in 2019, for $276.6 million and the total compensation was $280.6 million.
His 2022 package included nearly $6 million for personal safety and a $2 million base salary. In 2021, Pichai received a total of $6.3 million, consisting of a $2 million salary and $4.3 million in other compensation.
Memes began to circulate and compared Pichai to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who received a cut of more than 40% off his target total compensation for 2022 in January. Around the same time, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said he would cut his salary by 98% and refuse his bonus after the company cut 1,300 jobs. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson said he would also take a pay cut amid a 17% headcount cut.
More than a dozen employee memes have filled Google’s internal discussion forums, many with several hundred likes, according to posts viewed by CNBC. A meme with more than 1,200 likes referenced comments made by finance chief Ruth Porat, who wrote in a rare company-wide email last month that the company is making “multi-year” cuts to its personnel services. CNBC found that the cuts ranged from laptops and employee expenses to fitness classes and cafe items.
“Ruth’s cost savings applied to everyone… except our hard-working VPS and CEO,” the meme said.
Google has not commented on the record on this story.
It is not the first time that Pichai has come under fire for his recent decision-making. In January, PIchai said he took “full responsibility” for the circumstances leading up to the company-wide layoffs.
During a meeting with all employees, employees asked Pichai why executives take pay cuts when he takes responsibility. Pichai responded by saying that senior vice presidents are making “significant cuts to their bonuses” and that he was waiving his bonus.
Another popular meme showed an image of Shrek character Lord Farquaad with the caption “Sundar accepts $226 million while firing 12,000 Googlers, cutting perks and destroying morale and culture.” A quote from the character read, “Some of you may die, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
In the 2001 computer-animated fantasy, Lord Farquaad is the ruler of Duloc who banished many fairy creatures to the swamp.
The topic of Pichai and money is a controversial one dating back to late last year when the CEO said at a company-wide meeting that “we shouldn’t always equate fun with money.” At the time, he was responding to certain benefits the company was cutting, but dodging employee questions about cutting executive compensation.
Some of the frustration has focused on Google’s plan to buy back $70 billion in stock, a sign that the company has more than enough cash to cover its operations and investments. A recent meme that was liked more than 700 times read, “$70 billion in buybacks shows we respect outside shareholders more than Googlers.”
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