Thanks probably to the economy, a tough quarter, and a new tight-fisted CFO, Google employees who usually get cash for holiday bonuses will instead get re-branded T-Mobile cell phones running Google's mobile operating system, Android.
"This is a chance for us to once again dogfood a product and make it even better!" reads what Gawker editor Owen Thomas says is a memo from Google management to employees.
Here's the part where Google (GOOG) explained to employees why they wouldn't get their usual $1,000 holiday cash bonuses this year:
Some of you will of course be wondering why we decided to change from a cash bonus to the Dream phone. Here are the reasons. First, we've never developed anything like the Android software before and this represented a unique opportunity to celebrate that achievement. Googlers globally have been asking for the Dream phone and we're looking forward to seeing all the different things that you do with them. This is a chance for us to once again dogfood a product and make it even better! Second, as we discussed in our email this week, the current economic crisis requires us to be more conservative about how we spend our money. We felt that giving the Dream phone would be a great holiday present - something we could all celebrate.
Read the full memo at Gawker.
On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.
