Tags: google office cuts | cloud division | shared desks | layoffs

Google Office Cuts Will Force Workers to Share Desks

Google Office Cuts Will Force Workers to Share Desks
(AP)

By    |   Thursday, 23 February 2023 05:10 PM EST

Google’s unprofitable Cloud division is cutting back on office space and telling workers to come into the office only two days of the week, when they’ll alternate on shared desks, the New York Post reports.

Google is dubbing the shared office space “neighborhoods,” which will have standards on how workers can decorate their workstations.

The mandate takes effect in the second quarter in New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Kirkland, Wash.

“Most Googlers will now share a desk with one other Googler,” an internal memo said. “Through the matching process, they will agree on a basic desk setup and establish norms with their desk partner and teams to ensure a positive experience in the new shared environment.”

Anyone who shows up on an unassigned day when a desk is not available will be put in an “overflow drop-in space.”

Google had previously settled on a three-day-a-week post-COVID protocol.

On an earnings call earlier this month, the CEO of Google parent Alphabet, Ruth Porat, said the company would take a $500 million charge to exit leases.

The new work arrangement will enable Google to “continue to invest in Cloud’s growth,” the memo said.

Googlers are already grumbling on Memegen, one of Google’s internal forums, about the highly unusual new arrangement.

The desk-sharing plan comes only a few weeks after Google laid off 12,000 employees, 6% of its workforce, so that it can devote more resources to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

The moral of the story might be: In the work-from-home push, be careful what you wish for.

© 2025 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.


StreetTalk
Google's unprofitable Cloud division is cutting back on office space and telling workers to come into the office only two days of the week, when they'll alternate on shared desks, the New York Post reports.
google office cuts, cloud division, shared desks, layoffs
261
2023-10-23
Thursday, 23 February 2023 05:10 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
Newsmax2 Live
 
On Now:10:00a ET • The Wendy Bell Show
Coming Up:12:00p ET • John Bachman Now
Get Newsmax Text Alerts

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved