As Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas revealed on the Big Technology Podcast, Google once offered employees a 300% pay increase to discourage them from switching to Perplexity AI. Srinivas, an IIT Madras alumnus, highlighted the lengths to which big technology companies go to retain their employees.
The employees who received significant salary increases were from the ‘exploration team’ and were not directly involved in the AI department, Srinivas clarified.
Discussing layoffs in the tech industry, Srinivas noted that companies are targeting highly paid individuals who may not be contributing proportionately to productivity.
Regarding recent layoffs in the technology industry, tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs in 2024, with 32,000 roles cut in the technology industry alone.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai warned employees of impending layoffs, stressing that tough choices need to be made to create investment capacity. We have ambitious goals and will invest in big priorities this year, Pichai outlined in an internal memo.
Since January 10th, Google has laid off more than 1,000 employees across various departments.
In 2023, Mr. Pichai announced plans to cut approximately 12,000 jobs, or approximately 6% of the global workforce, Pichai’s open letter reads. The layoffs at Alphabet include layoffs in various departments, including technology development division X Lab, advertising sales, the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit, and the augmented reality team.
