Google cutting back on free-food perks?

Blame the mounting economic pressures, or too many chubby engineers: Google has decided to stop offering free dinner, afternoon snacks, and its "tea trolley" to employees, according to an unconfirmed rumor floated on Valleywag.

A Google representative did not immediately return my request for comment, so this one is still hanging around in the gossip-sphere. But Valleywag reported that the changes are slated to be announced Monday, which would mean that either a confirmation or debunking should be available within hours.

A chef prepares Google food, back in 2004.

(Credit: Google)

Google has become renowned for its employee perks: massages, game rooms, gyms, laundry facilities, and free food three times a day. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin went out on a limb in creating the free-food strategy, which they said was a worthwhile investment to make employees healthier, happier, and more efficient. The food's even good enough for Google's original head chef to have penned a cookbook.

Cutting perks always results in bad PR, something that Google learned the hard way when it shot the cost of day care for employees' kids into the stratosphere, for example. But cutting back on free food, one of Google's most visible and unique perks, may be over the top for some workers.

Critics of the perks have suggested, in addition to questioning the economic efficiency, that offering so much free food is really just a way to make Googlers spend more time at the office. Then there's the internal joke about the "Google 15" (or "Google 20" depending on who you ask), the rumored weight gain that happens after getting hired at Google and being surrounded by so much gratis grub.

Coincidentally, the gossip comes soon after the heavy blogging of a two-month-old Flickr photo that revealed Google's New York cafeteria serving bacon cheeseburgers on Krispy Kreme donuts as a novelty food. Hey, Googlers, maybe the rumored change is for your own good.

Still, this has not been confirmed, which means that it could easily turn out to be false, or perhaps overhyped (restricted to Google satellite offices, for example). But given the marketwide economic belt-tightening, it's not too hard to believe the rumor.

[Penguinisto]

Makes sense... and its about time they started acting like a grown-up corp (then again, mine still has free soda, has a gym on-site, and even practical stuff like free transportation between their campuses and the train stops).

[Vegaman_Dan]

Same here. A free lunch is nice, I suppose, but I still probably wouldn't eat there. I'm normally too busy for taking breaks like lunch. Free beverages / transportation between campuses/work location is good enough for me.

[humanssssss]

Competition will drive much of the free stuffs away. As their astronomical revenue generating search engine reaches its pinnacle, they will start to do away with a lot of perks.

Google is no longer innovative. They are a company who is about to reach its peak in growth.

[myles taylor]

They could start charging a small fee to pay for food. Or maybe one free meal and then additional meals cost. I don't see this as being too bad...perks are going everywhere though; even where I work.

[Fat Drunk and Stupid]

Oh... My... GOD!!!

Google is going to stop feeding their employees?

TEHY'LL ALL STARVE TO DEATH!!!

... or they'll buy their own food with the money that their employer pays them just like the rest of us.

GOOOOGLE IS SO EVIL!!!!!

[jackdaniels08]

Google is incredibly one of the most innovative companies ever in the universe and is becoming more so everyday much of it under the hood and that's the way they'd like to keep it. As far as Google reaching it's pinnacle in revenue, Google is just getting started. The nascent market of mobile advertising, and getting into TV advertising, radio advertising as well as their continued growth online around the world in technologically nascent societies and ever expanding populations. And that's just the beginning. Google's expansion into the world of alternative energy will be huge as well as biosciences, space science etc. Google is planting many many seeds. You ain't seen nothing yet! Go go go Google! Thank you for all you offer, we (as the data shows) look foward to more!

[coggslycogs]

Competition will drive much of the free stuffs away.
Ya, right I just can see a new search engine coming out of India or China
run by slaves undercutting Google.


If we would just see the Republican new world order light, and become
slaves ourselfs, then maybe the Rich Republican elite wouldn't have to
send all our jobs to slaves in other countries.

I'm a American who believes in Free trade, Globalism, and the New World order.

So I'm going to proudly wave that American Flag that
I bought at Wally mart, that was Made in Communist China,
by little 5 year old at the point of a gun for food and 3 hours of sleep a day.

Still, wouldn't it be better if that flag was made here in America by a young
undocumented worker seeking a better way of life for room and board and 6 hours of sleep a day.

I urge you all to support Free trade, Globalism, and the New World order,
Please vote Republican this November!

[syntheticzero]

This story is false. Google free dinners continue, as has already been reported elsewhere. The whole concept isn't a "perk" so much as a smart strategy to save employee time, reduce stress, and increase job satisfaction. It's a win-win and there's no reason for Google to change the policy.

[Willie Winkie]

Hard to believe that a company taking good care of its workers is met with so much jaded acrimony. I'd be willing to bet that almost 0% of all people offered a job @ Google ever turn it down. The rest of us have to "settle" for companies that treat employees like so much disposable cattle. Shouldn't the Google Way be a model for companies rather that a scorned anomaly?

[L7Bear]

For a company that's had billions upon billions of dollars, would it really be that big a deal if they didn't get FREE meals? Google employees not only receive some great benefits packages, company amenities to make deities jealous, the high pay rate, and of course the name Google on their resumes now. I'm pretty sure they can swing a couple bucks for their lunches. After visiting the Google Campus and sampling the food it is obvious that they have a culinary operation that requires a lot more money than corporate cafeterias anywhere else on the planet. One member of their Culinary Team as discussed the high quality of the ingredients that they get from environmentally responsible resources. It's a huge, expensive organization to maintain. As a foodie myself, I'm amazed by the foods that these white collar tech geeks get to eat. It's definitely a huge operation with some of the best stuff with which to make food. And they get it for free?

At the same time I've watched some of the Google employees act with fierce abandonment of respect for the men and women that feed them. For a large group of employees at a corporation that's own mantra is "don't be evil," I'd say that they do a great job of stomping all over that belief. There's over 17 different outlets for food, overly stocked "micro kitchens," breakfast, lunch, dinner, a mid-day snack, a tea cart... the list goes on. For some reason these employees wish to complain about the food service, or demand to be given a larger portion, or proclaim that they NEED to have a "to go box" to go with the other five they have under their arms while carrying a tray piled mountain high with foods they most likely will never finish. I have been told that this is a regular occurrence.

One would start to think that Google employees are all selfish. But this isn't true. It's only the worst examples that stand out. These are the ones that make the idealistic corporate concept seem like a fiery failure. My friend that works on the Google Campus has told me that in the past the company has banned some employees from cafeteria service due to outrageous behavior and disrespectful conduct. Perhaps it is time for Google to re-instate that policy and to remind their employees how good they truly have it. I mean hey, there's starving children in East Palo Alto, Oakland, East San Jose, the streets of San Francisco, and everywhere else on Google's local front. Maybe they'd like a free meal in lieu of a college educated, employed computer programmer.