Google bumps up vacation days and parental leaves

Alphabet Inc's Google on Thursday increased the amount of time employees around the world can take off for vacation or caring for newborns and seriously ill loved ones.

Google has long been known as a global trailblazer in workplace benefits. But unlike many companies in Silicon Valley, it does not offer unlimited paid time off. Employees also have grown frustrated during the pandemic about long work hours, without being able to enjoy free meals and other Google office perks.

Employees will now receive a minimum of 20 paid vacation days annually, up from 15 days.

Google's chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi, said in a statement that the increased leave aims "to support our employees at every stage of their lives and that means providing extraordinary benefits."

Google said parents who give birth can take up to 24 weeks off compared with 18 previously. All other parents will have up to 18 weeks of leave, up from 12.

-reuters

Google halves Play Store fees for subscription apps

Alphabet Inc-owned Google said on Thursday it is lowering the fee that subscription-based apps need to pay Play Store to 15 percent right from day one, following criticism about its fee structure from companies such as Spotify .

Currently, developers pay a 30 percent subscription fee in the first year, and 15 percent thereafter.

"We've heard that customer churn makes it challenging for subscription businesses to benefit from that reduced rate. So, we're simplifying things to ensure they can," Google said in a blogpost.

The new structure will kick in from January next year and likely encourage developers to switch from one-time payment modes to subscriptions.

E-book companies and on-demand music streaming services, which use most of their sales to pay for content costs, will now be eligible for a service fee as low as 10 percent.

Google has come under fire from large firms such as Microsoft Corp, Spotify Technology SA, as well as startups and smaller companies, that allege the fees deprive consumers of choices and push up app prices.

In March, Google had said it will cut the service fee it charges developers on its app store by half on the first $1 million they earn in revenue in a year, a move similar to iPhone maker Apple Inc.

-reuters

South Korea fines Google $177 million for blocking Android customization

SEOUL - South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet Inc's Google 207 billion won ($176.64 million) for blocking customized versions of its Android operating system (OS), in the US technology giant's second setback in less than a month.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) on Tuesday said terms with device makers amounted to abuse of Google's dominant market position that restricted competition in the mobile OS market.

Google in a statement said it intends to appeal. It said the ruling ignores benefits offered by Android's compatibility with other programs and undermines advantages enjoyed by consumers.

The fine comes on the day an amendment to South Korea's Telecommunications Business Act - popularly dubbed the "anti-Google law" - came into effect.

The law now bans app store operators such as Google from requiring software developers use their payment systems - a requirement which effectively stopped developers from charging commission on in-app purchases.

KFTC said Google hampered competition by making device producers abide by an "anti-fragmentation agreement (AFA)" when signing key contracts with it regarding app store licenses.

Under the AFA, manufacturers could not equip their handsets with modified versions of Android, known as "Android forks". That has helped Google cement its market dominance in the mobile OS market, the KFTC said.

The regulator said the fine could be the ninth-biggest it has ever imposed.

In 2013, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd launched a smartwatch with a customized OS, but switched to a different OS after Google regarded the move as an AFA violation, KFTC said.

Samsung Electronics declined to comment.

-reuters

Google extends remote work option due to pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Google on Tuesday extended the option for its employees to work from home into next year due to the pandemic.

Returning to Google campuses will remain voluntary globally through January 10, with local offices given the discretion to decide when to require employees to return to their desks, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"I’m happy to say that a large number of offices globally are already open for business, and we are welcoming back tens of thousands of Googlers on a voluntary basis," Pichai said.

"The road ahead may be a little longer and bumpier than we hoped, yet I remain optimistic that we will get through it together."

He promised Google workers 30 days' notice before they would have to return to their offices, and announced they would be able to take off an extra day in October and December as "reset days" to "rest and recharge."

Google, Facebook and other tech giants have delayed plans for workers to return to the campuses that were abandoned early in the pandemic in an effort to limit the spread of Covid-19. 

Tech firms have also instituted vaccine and mask requirements to make offices safer as the Delta variant surges in the US and other countries.

Agence France-Presse 

Slowing digital-ad growth could force change on Google

SAN FRANCISCO — While Google has dominated the online ad market for almost the entirety of its existence, its first quarter earnings report suggests that competitors may be nipping at its heels.

Investors pushed down the stock of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, more than 7% in after-hours trading Monday after it reported revenue that fell short of analyst expectations. That dip could shave more than $65 billion from Alphabet’s market value if it holds when the markets open Tuesday.

Google’s advertising revenue, its key moneymaker, grew by 15 percent to $30.7 billion — slower than investors had hoped. Its digital-ad rivals Facebook and Amazon, meanwhile, both reported strong earnings last week, adding to the investor surprise when Alphabet stumbled despite a strong economy.

Alphabet executives deflected concerns of growing competition on a conference call with analysts Monday, instead suggesting that fluctuating currency rates and changes to Google ad products during the quarter led to the slowdown. The online-ad industry is also still in a yearslong shift to phone and tablet ads and away from ones aimed at desktop users. Ads for mobile devices bring in less money.

Still, the results sparked concerns that Google’s enormously profitable advertising machine might be starting to sputter. Some analysts suggested it’s a signal that Google might need to diversify its business more quickly.

“Does this put more pressure on Google to make more aggressive bets on cloud?” asked Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.

Google executives highlighted the company’s cloud-computing business as one of its fastest growing segments during the Monday call. But the cloud currently accounts for only a small slice of Alphabet’s overall revenue. The company reported $5.4 billion in “other” revenue, which includes cloud, hardware and Play Store purchases.

Hardware sales also slowed during the quarter for the Pixel phone, Google chief financial officer Ruth Porat said on Monday’s call, reflecting a broader industry slowdown in smartphone sales.

Alphabet reported a first-quarter profit of $8.3 billion, down 6% from $8.9 billion in the year-earlier period. Profit amounted to $11.90 per share, well above Wall Street estimates of $10.60.

That figure doesn’t include an expected charge of $1.7 billion to account for a European Union antitrust fine. The fine was imposed in March for anti-competitive practices in Google’s advertising business, referring to a specific exclusivity practice Google now says it has ended.

Google and Facebook, along with other internet companies, are feeling rising heat from regulatory bodies around the world as people and governments question their privacy practices. Some regulators express concern that the largest companies are so big that they’re stifling competition.

Including the fine, Alphabet’s profit of $6.7 billion fell short of analyst estimates. Excluding advertising commissions that Google pays to customers, Alphabet’s overall revenue was $29.5 billion — also falling short of the $30 billion analysts were expecting.

Alphabet also reported widening losses in its “Other Bets” category – a broad segment that includes experimental ventures such as self-driving car business Waymo and internet-balloon subsidiary Loon. Losses grew to $868 million from $571 million a year ago. /kga

source: technology.inquirer.net