Google cutting back on staplers, laptops, services: Report

(KRON) — Google will be cutting back on employee services and equipment like laptops and staplers, according to a companywide email cited in reporting by CNBC. The austerity plan is part of a “multi-year” effort to reduce costs laid out in an email from Google’s Chief Financial Officer, Ruth Porat, the report said.

The report also cites separate documents indicating that Google plans to cut back on things like fitness classes, frequency of replacement laptops for employees, and simple office supplies like staplers and tape. The reported measures to cut costs come on the heels of January layoffs that saw the company cut 12,000 jobs.

Non-engineering employees who require new laptops will be issued Google-made Chromebooks by default, the report also says. This marks a shift from when a range of offerings including Apple MacBooks were made available to employees.

In addition to laptops, staplers and tape are also being targeted as a cost-saving measure, reportedly. The items are no longer being provided at print stations across the company, according to CNBC.

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“If you need a stapler or tape, the receptionist desk has them to borrow,” a San Francisco facility directive cited by CNBC reportedly said.

Employee perks like fitness and yoga classes, massages, and food are also being cut, reporting indicates. Many of the companies current amenities are carryovers from a time when employees came in every day. But in the company’s current hybrid model, many employees come in only three days a week.

As a result, the company reportedly plans to close campus cafes on days when fewer employees are in the office due to hybrid work schedules.