Google offered a 300% salary increase to retain an employee and dissuade them from joining an AI startup led by alumni from IIT-Madras.

During a recent episode of the Big Technology Podcast, Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, discussed how major tech firms like Google are going to great lengths to retain their employees. Srinivas shared a story where Google offered to quadruple the salary of an employee who was considering a job offer from Perplexity AI, despite the employee not being directly involved with Google's AI division. Srinivas, an IIT-Madras alumni, expressed surprise at Google's willingness to significantly increase the offer.

He also touched on the issue of layoffs in the tech industry, noting the uncertainty surrounding the criteria used by companies to determine who gets laid off. Srinivas mentioned that there's a perception that high-salary employees who don't contribute proportionately to productivity could be targeted. He highlighted a shift at companies like Google toward scrutinizing output relative to compensation more closely.

Regarding Google's recent layoffs, approximately 1,000 employees across various teams including hardware, central engineering, and Google Assistant were affected. Those laid off are being given the opportunity to apply for other positions within Google until April, after which they will have to leave if they haven't secured another position. Last year, Google conducted its largest layoff, cutting 12,000 employees. The tech industry as a whole is experiencing a wave of layoffs in 2024.