Google cracks down on employee performance with impending layoffs and stringent new review system

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Google is introducing a new employee review system that will be more rigorous and selective, leading to higher stakes for employees. The performance review system, called GRAD (Google Reviews and Development), was first announced in May, and is set to take effect next year. Insider sources said that it will include a category called “Transformative Impact,” which requires employees to make “more than we thought possible”, and have “achieved the near-impossible”, in order to qualify for the highest rating.

Under the new system, Google estimates that 6% of full-time employees will fall into a low-ranking category, putting them at high risk of termination. This is a significant increase from the current system, which only marks 2% of employees as low performers. Even top-performing employees will have a harder time achieving high marks, as Google projects that only 22% of employees will be rated in one of the two highest categories, compared to 27% under the current system.

Many Google employees are concerned about the technical issues with the new review system and the tight year-end deadline for implementation. In a recent all-hands meeting, Google CEO Sundar Pichai did not rule out the possibility of layoffs, leading to speculation that the lower 6% of employees (~10,000) may be at risk of being let go in 2023. This news comes as other tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Twitter, and Salesforce, are also making significant cuts to their workforce.