Google Lays Off 200 - Not Really

It has been confirmed that Google is in fact going to layoff 200 people from their company. But that is not the entire story. First off, Google is giving these folks 60 day notices [Required by law -yes]. But they also have another option. They may apply for other positions in the company as well. Though Google lay offs can be seen as a sign of the economic down turn, are these layoffs because of bad times? Not according to Google. 

On their blog site they state the following:

Google has grown very quickly in a very short period of time. When companies grow that quickly it’s almost impossible to get everything right—and we certainly didn’t. In some areas we’ve created overlapping organizations which not only duplicate effort but also complicate the decision-making process. That makes our teams less effective and efficient than they should be. In addition, we over-invested in some areas in preparation for the growth trends we were experiencing at the time.

So today we have informed Googlers that we plan to reduce the number of roles within our sales and marketing organizations by just under 200 globally. Making changes of this kind is never easy—and we recognize that the recession makes the timing even more difficult for the Googlers concerned. We did look at a number of different options but ultimately concluded that we had to restructure our organizations in order to improve our effectiveness and efficiency as a business. We will give each person time to try and find another position at Google, as well as outplacement support, and provide severance packages for those who leave the company. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone affected for all they have contributed to Google. 

If after the 60 days, none of the 200 have taken other positions within the company, than the 200 number is real. But until that time, these numbers are misleading.

Comments welcome.

Source.