'Googlers will now share a desk': Google employees to work in hybrid mode, share space to cut costs

Google recently conducted mass layoffs, one of the biggest the company has ever seen. It removed around 12,000 employees in the month of January. However, the cost-cutting measure may not have been enough as a new report suggests Google is resorting to desk-sharing. 

Google Cloud is implementing a new desk-sharing model across its five largest U.S. locations next quarter to increase real estate efficiency and accommodate its growth, according to a report by CNBC. 

The model will require most employees to share a desk with one the other employee and come in on alternate days to avoid being at the same desk. 

Employees who come in on unassigned days will use overflow drop-in spaces. The move comes as Google downsizes its real estate footprint and is part of broader cost-cutting measures. The cloud unit is among the highest-growth areas at Google but is not yet profitable.

An internal document has been quoted saying that “Most Googlers will now share a desk with one other Googler. 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.”

Under the new arrangement, employees will alternate days they are in the office, either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday, and will generally share a desk with one other Googler. They will be in two days a week, a change from the company requiring employees to come in three days a week.

The company has also organized employees into "neighborhoods" consisting of teams of 200 to 300 employees and partners, with each neighborhood having a vice president or director responsible for allocating space in the area.

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