Hacker News Reader

Don't blame Google yet. This is Forbes fabricating a story for clicks, and the Independent parroting it uncritically. It's possible (and IMO likely) that Google will undergo layoffs (but you don't need to be Nostradamus to predict "company will undergo layoffs" during a recession), but both Forbes and the Independent appear to be misrepresenting their speculation as special knowledge.

View on HN

Yes, this is not a real story. Pure speculation. No real sources.

IMO as a Google employee, I don’t see layoffs happening. The company has started hiring again. My coworkers are flooded with interviews. We’re still having holiday parties and other “fun” spending seems to have returned. I have no inside knowledge, that’s just my own personal observation.

I don't want to be a party pooper but it's unlikely that Google will not undergo some sort of reduction in workforce. I really really hope that I'm wrong but based on the messaging this will happen.

Interesting: two conflicting reports from inside Google (assuming they are really working for Google). Perhaps only some departements are affected from reduction in workforce.

What messaging?

The whole: we need things to be more efficient, we need to focus efforts, etc.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com