The cold wind of the downturn that has been blowing though Silicon Valley finally reached the doors of the world's biggest internet search engine yesterday when Google cancelled its staff Christmas cash bonus.
This year, instead of the usual $1,000 present to plump up the festive pay cheque, Google is giving all its employees a version of the G1, the mobile phone it released this year to compete with Apple's iPhone.
In an internal e-mail, the company told staff: “The holiday bonus is a Google tradition - it's a great way to thank everyone for their hard work. In the past, we've done this in cash. This year, we've decided to give Googlers a different kind of present - a Dream phone.”
