A leaked spreadsheet containing salary information from thousands of Google employees has garnered a lot of attention recently.
The spreadsheet, compiled by workers within the Mountain View-based tech giant, offers insights into the pay details of full-time employees across various roles, including software engineers, salespeople, designers, product managers, and more.
The figures revealed are eye-opening, with Google employees consistently earning salaries that are five times higher than the national average.
As one of the leading players in the tech industry, Google has interests spanning across various sectors, including YouTube, Google Cloud and Workspace, Android, Waymo, DeepMind, and, of course, its money-making search engine and ad network.
What Was Revealed In the Google Salary Leak?
As of March, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, employed over 190,000 individuals, even after a recent round of layoffs.
According to a notice filed with the company’s shareholders, the median pay for Alphabet employees in the previous year amounted to a staggering $279,802.
However, the leaked spreadsheet reveals that some Google employees earn far more than the median pay.
These individuals typically receive a combination of base salary, company equity, and bonuses, leading to even more substantial compensations.
It is important to note that the reported pay details are from 2022 and do not include subsidiaries such as Waymo or Nest. Unfortunately, Google declined to provide any comment on the matter.
Software engineers emerged as the highest earners across all job categories, with three individuals reporting salaries that left many stunned.
One software engineer claimed a base salary of $718,000, another mentioned stock options worth an impressive $1.5 million, and a third received a jaw-dropping $605,000 bonus.
Google has been actively expanding its cloud business, aiming to compete with industry giants like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
As a result, employees responsible for selling Google’s cloud products to other companies are reaping the benefits.
The leaked spreadsheet disclosed maximum base salaries of over $300,000 for roles such as cloud sales, sales strategy, and enterprise direct sales. Moreover, account managers and product specialists earn salaries exceeding $200,000.
The salary data also shed light on other positions within Google. Several base salaries for user experience employees reportedly surpassed $200,000, with the highest-earning designer earning an impressive $315,000 before bonuses or stock options.
Insider, the source of the leaked spreadsheet, also released salary ranges from the document, showcasing substantial but slightly less extravagant figures.
For instance, global communications workers reported base pay ranging from $80,000 to $235,000, with bonuses reaching up to $70,000.
Additionally, employees in accounting, business operations, procurement, and product analysis allegedly received $100,000 or more in company equity.
It is also worth noting that Alphabet’s stock value has appreciated by over 36% since the start of 2023.
This increase suggests an even more significant payday for Google employees who receive company equity as part of their compensation packages.
CEO Sundar Pichai, for instance, received a pay package last year worth $225 million, primarily consisting of stock. This amount is a staggering 808 times greater than the median worker’s pay at the company.
That is all the available data that has been revealed with the Google salary leak.