Google to give 10% salary hike to employees worldwide

Internet search titan Google Inc is planning to give a 10 per cent salary hike to all of its 23,000 employees across the world starting next year, says a media report.

The pay hike comes as Google ramps up its battle with competitors, especially neighbouring Facebook Inc, in a fight to secure talented staff. About 10 per cent of Facebook's employees are Google veterans.

Attributing the development to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google Inc is giving a 10 per cent raise to all of its 23,000 employees.

"The raise, which will be given to executives and staff across the globe, is effective in January," the report noted.

Citing an email written by Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to employees, the report said: "We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work. We want to continue to attract the best people to Google."

Schmidt further wrote that company surveys indicated salary was more important to Google employees than any other component of pay, such as bonuses or equity. He added the company was moving a portion of employees' bonuses into their base salaries, so they would receive some of it in every paycheck.

Over the past year several former Google executives who helped run the company's advertising business, and Google product managers and engineers involved in Chrome and Android software projects, joined Facebook.

According to the publication, the raise is not the first time Google has taken steps to retain employees. In 2009, it repriced millions of employee stock options whose value had been wiped out as Google's share price fell between 2007 and 2009.