Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld
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Alphabet Donated Its Employees’ Holiday Gifts to Charity
In past years, the company has given employees phones and laptops, but not under the new, cost-conscious regime.
This year employees speculated they might get Google’s new Pixel phones or a Google Home unit, the company’s competitor to Amazon’s Echo. But they forgot: They don’t work for Google anymore. They work for Alphabet. Instead of a shiny new gadget, Alphabet employees got an email.
Employees were informed that their holiday gift this year was a donation to charity, Fortune has learned.
Too bad it wasn't a donation to The Human Fund. Money, For People®
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@El_Heffe said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
Employees were informed that their holiday gift this year was a donation to charity
Do they also get the tax receipt?
I don't think they got the tax receipt.
I'm pretty sure Alphabet got the tax receipt-- for a donation they were going to do anyways.
Alphabet just got paid to fuck their employees out of a holiday bonus.
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@Lorne-Kates said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
@El_Heffe said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
Employees were informed that their holiday gift this year was a donation to charity
Do they also get the tax receipt?
I don't think they got the tax receipt.
I'm pretty sure Alphabet got the tax receipt-- for a donation they were going to do anyways.
Alphabet just got paid to fuck their employees out of a holiday bonus.
yay corporate tax loopholes!
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Alphabet likely would have spent around the same amount of money on its holiday gifts, so it’s not exactly a cost-saving move. But the decision signals a shift in culture for the company, from perks run amok to responsible corporate citizen. An Alphabet spokeswoman declined to comment.
Uh-huh. The idea that companies deciding what employees do with their money is "responsible citizenship" is malignant bullshit.
I wonder if there's a case for a civil suit over this.
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@Dreikin
I don't see how there would be, unless there's some sort of contractual obligation to provide a holiday bonus. It's Alphabet's money until they decide what to do with it. A serious dick move to be like "hey, no holiday bonus, but we donated to charity in your name! look at all the good press we're getting!". But not illegal / liability-generating.
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@izzion said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
@Dreikin
I don't see how there would be, unless there's some sort of contractual obligation to provide a holiday bonus. It's Alphabet's money until they decide what to do with it. A serious dick move to be like "hey, no holiday bonus, but we donated to charity in your name! look at all the good press we're getting!". But not illegal / liability-generating.The "in your name" part is what makes me wonder. If they were careless, that could imply it was the employees' property, and that could turn it into conversion.
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@Dreikin said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
The "in your name" part is what makes me wonder.
Nah, that's a common enough "gift" that it likely doesn't imply anything legally. Worth a check though.
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@Yamikuronue said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
@Dreikin said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
The "in your name" part is what makes me wonder.
Nah, that's a common enough "gift" that it likely doesn't imply anything legally. Worth a check though.
On another note, I wonder if you could do some sort of protest suit about your name being associated with it. Libel/Slander is out, as American law more-or-less requires it harm your reputation, which donations to charity don't typically do. But if they're claiming to be donating in your name, I wonder if you could sue for the rights to claim it on your taxes. (If they're already letting you claim it, then it's probably not worth a suit on the protest basis. It's still a crappy "gift", though).
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@Dreikin said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
I wonder if you could sue for the rights to claim it on your taxes.
Claim what? The employees have not paid any tax on the money which was donated, so there's no need to claim a refund.
I don't see how it benefits the company either; whether they give the money to their employees or to charity, it comes off their pre-tax bottom line. Their accountants are probably more devious than I am though, so if it's a tax dodge I'd be curious to know how it works.
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@Lorne-Kates said in Google parent compnay, Alphabet, pulls a Seinfeld:
Alphabet just got paid to fuck their employees out of a holiday bonus
To be fair, "don't be evil" was never Alphabet's corporate slogan.
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CollegeHumor made fun of this as well:
The Worst Gift on the First Christmas – 03:55
— DropoutFiled Under: You are welcome?
