Google Takes a Hit

How’s the crunch hitting Google? “In recent months,” writes The Wall Street Journal, “[Google] reduced the hours of its free cafeteria service and suspended the traditional afternoon tea in its New York office.” Sounds like it may be some time before it comes knocking for a bailout, but this still may be foreboding for a company whose perks have included “three free meals a day, free doctors, ski trips and laundry facilities, and subsidized personal trainers.” Google has lost almost one-third of its share price since its record close of $741.79 in November 2007, and is planning to cut spending and new projects. Google Notebook has been axed, while Google Page Creator was folded into Google Sites. And advertising is being introduced into products that previously excluded it, like Google News and Google Finance. Despite efforts to diversify, Google’s revenue still comes almost entirely from advertising on search engine results pages.