Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) CEO, talked to students at Standford University on Thursday saying concerning Google (GOOG) and the pace they're hiring at that "They're going to double in a year. That's insane, in my opinion."
He added that other than their Internet search and advertising business, they have very little successful businesses under their corporate umbrella.
Concerning Microsoft and their hiring practices over the decades, Ballmer said that they grew the company to 75,000 employees, but it was over a three decade period of time. Ballmer said that it was a rate that allowed the company absorb the new hires easier.
He added that "I don't really know that anybody's proven that a random collection of people doing their own thing actually creates value."
Why is Ballmer so concerned about Google's hiring practices? We're coming into a time of employee shortages. Evidently Ballmer is frustrated with Google because they're hiring beyond what they need, presumably for the near future shortages. He commented that the competition for recruiting is as tough as it has been for a long time.
The bottom line seems to be that Google is in reality taking some big chances. They may be hiring, not only to fill needed positions at the company, but to also keep recruits from landing at their competitors. If that's the case, it has a lot of risk involved, along with impact upon their financials.
Last year Google grew by 88 percent from the year before in employees. With a possible doubling of that figure this year, it could become somewhat a a loose configuration of people that may put tremendous pressure on the company to incorporate them into their culture.
From Ballmer's response, it is obviously having an impact upon Microsoft, and if them, on other companies across the nation. I wonder if this is going to launch a type of recruiting war that could cause all the companies desperate for software programmers and engineers especially, to hire beyond their needs, and potentially cause all sorts of unforeseen problems at these companies?
For me, I do see this as taking a tremendous risk on Google's part. Of course they may have some unknown business in the pipeline that isn't known at this time that would justify that hiring rate, but still, it does make you wonder what their leaders are doing and why.
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