Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 22:47:36 GMT
I have seen some rash decisions by them, and some mistakes are showing up.
Google pulls the plug on its Pixel laptops
Google is losing employees because it paid them too much money
Google pulls the plug on its Pixel laptops
Although its new flagship phones have been doing brisk sales, Google's high-end, $1,299 Pixel-branded Chromebooks won't be seeing much love from the search giant in the near future. According to TechCrunch, reporting from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, Google's SVP of hardware Rick Osterloh has announced the second version of the Pixel laptop will be the last of its kind.
As TechCrunch notes, Google is trimming down the Pixel line to just the smartphones and the Pixel C tablet for now. Although there may be other devices carrying the name in the future, Osterloh said it was unlikely that its own laptops would be one of them. And don't hold your breath if you were in the market for a Pixel 2 yourself: the company sold out of them back in August and has no plans to restock them. Chrome OS is staying put, however, and users will still be able to buy third-party Chromebooks. "Google hasn't backed away from laptops," Osterloh said. "We have the number two market share in the U.S. and U.K. — but we have no plans for Google-branded laptops."
As TechCrunch notes, Google is trimming down the Pixel line to just the smartphones and the Pixel C tablet for now. Although there may be other devices carrying the name in the future, Osterloh said it was unlikely that its own laptops would be one of them. And don't hold your breath if you were in the market for a Pixel 2 yourself: the company sold out of them back in August and has no plans to restock them. Chrome OS is staying put, however, and users will still be able to buy third-party Chromebooks. "Google hasn't backed away from laptops," Osterloh said. "We have the number two market share in the U.S. and U.K. — but we have no plans for Google-branded laptops."
Google is losing employees because it paid them too much money
For the past year, Google's car project has been a talent sieve, thanks to leadership changes, strategy doubts, new startup dreams and rivals luring self-driving technology experts. Another force pushing people out? Money. A lot of it.
Early employees had an unusual compensation system that awarded supersized payouts based on the project's value. By late 2015, the numbers were so big that several veteran members didn't need the job security anymore, making them more open to other opportunities, according to people familiar with the situation. Two people called it “F-you money.”
In December, the car unit morphed into a standalone business called Waymo, and the system was replaced with a more uniform pay structure that treats all employees the same, according to a person familiar with the situation. Still, the original program got so costly that a top executive at parent Alphabet Inc. highlighted it last year to explain a jump in expenses. A spokeswoman for Alphabet, the holding company that owns Google and “Other Bets” like the autonomous car business, declined to comment.
Google will make pirated films and TV shows tougher to find from June
The payouts contributed to a talent exodus at a time when the company was trying to turn the project into a real business and emerging rivals were recruiting heavily. The episode highlights Alphabet's difficult transition from a digital advertising giant into a diversified technology company with varied groups of employees requiring different incentives. Other new businesses, including health care unit Verily, use different compensation systems too, but they have yet to generate huge payouts like the car project.
The unorthodox system started in 2010, soon after Google unveiled its first self-driving vehicle. It was constructed to tie employees' fortunes to the performance of the project, rather than Google's advertising money machine. In addition to cash salaries, some staffers were given bonuses and equity in the business and these awards were set aside in a special entity. After several years, Google applied a multiplier to the value of the awards and paid some or all of it out. The multiplier was based on periodic valuations of the division, the people said.
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The precise metrics that the division was measured by— and caused the bonuses to balloon— are not known. But by 2015, the Google car project had come a long way: Google’s vehicles had logged more than one million autonomous miles; car companies including Toyota and Tesla announced their own plans to develop autonomous systems; and analysts predicted the technology would transform the auto industry.
A large multiplier was applied to the compensation packages in late 2015, resulting in multi-million dollar payments in some cases, according to the people familiar with the situation. One member of the team had a multiplier of 16 applied to bonuses and equity amassed over four years, one of the people said. They asked not to be identified talking about private matters. Part of the problem was that payouts snowballed after key milestones were reached, even though the ultimate goal of the project — fully autonomous vehicles provided to the public through commercial services — remained years away.
It’s unclear how much the payouts cost Alphabet, however, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat talked about it during an earnings conference call with analysts in early 2016.
Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2015 rose 14 per cent to $6.6bn (£5.29bn), “primarily driven by R&D expense, particularly affected by expenses resulting from project milestones in Other Bets established several years ago,” Porat said, according to a transcript. The CFO wasn’t specific, but one of the people familiar with the situation said the comments referred to the car project compensation.
Staff departures from the car division increased in 2016. Some were frustrated with the pace of progress and had doubts about new leader John Krafcik, while others wanted to start their own autonomous vehicle companies, people familiar with the matter said. The big payouts exacerbated the situation because team members had less financial incentive to stay, the people familiar with the situation said.
Early employees had an unusual compensation system that awarded supersized payouts based on the project's value. By late 2015, the numbers were so big that several veteran members didn't need the job security anymore, making them more open to other opportunities, according to people familiar with the situation. Two people called it “F-you money.”
In December, the car unit morphed into a standalone business called Waymo, and the system was replaced with a more uniform pay structure that treats all employees the same, according to a person familiar with the situation. Still, the original program got so costly that a top executive at parent Alphabet Inc. highlighted it last year to explain a jump in expenses. A spokeswoman for Alphabet, the holding company that owns Google and “Other Bets” like the autonomous car business, declined to comment.
Google will make pirated films and TV shows tougher to find from June
The payouts contributed to a talent exodus at a time when the company was trying to turn the project into a real business and emerging rivals were recruiting heavily. The episode highlights Alphabet's difficult transition from a digital advertising giant into a diversified technology company with varied groups of employees requiring different incentives. Other new businesses, including health care unit Verily, use different compensation systems too, but they have yet to generate huge payouts like the car project.
The unorthodox system started in 2010, soon after Google unveiled its first self-driving vehicle. It was constructed to tie employees' fortunes to the performance of the project, rather than Google's advertising money machine. In addition to cash salaries, some staffers were given bonuses and equity in the business and these awards were set aside in a special entity. After several years, Google applied a multiplier to the value of the awards and paid some or all of it out. The multiplier was based on periodic valuations of the division, the people said.
Read more
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Google parent Alphabet shares fall as profit misses targets
The precise metrics that the division was measured by— and caused the bonuses to balloon— are not known. But by 2015, the Google car project had come a long way: Google’s vehicles had logged more than one million autonomous miles; car companies including Toyota and Tesla announced their own plans to develop autonomous systems; and analysts predicted the technology would transform the auto industry.
A large multiplier was applied to the compensation packages in late 2015, resulting in multi-million dollar payments in some cases, according to the people familiar with the situation. One member of the team had a multiplier of 16 applied to bonuses and equity amassed over four years, one of the people said. They asked not to be identified talking about private matters. Part of the problem was that payouts snowballed after key milestones were reached, even though the ultimate goal of the project — fully autonomous vehicles provided to the public through commercial services — remained years away.
It’s unclear how much the payouts cost Alphabet, however, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat talked about it during an earnings conference call with analysts in early 2016.
Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2015 rose 14 per cent to $6.6bn (£5.29bn), “primarily driven by R&D expense, particularly affected by expenses resulting from project milestones in Other Bets established several years ago,” Porat said, according to a transcript. The CFO wasn’t specific, but one of the people familiar with the situation said the comments referred to the car project compensation.
Staff departures from the car division increased in 2016. Some were frustrated with the pace of progress and had doubts about new leader John Krafcik, while others wanted to start their own autonomous vehicle companies, people familiar with the matter said. The big payouts exacerbated the situation because team members had less financial incentive to stay, the people familiar with the situation said.
