Reflecting on 18 years at Google: early Google had a vision, but its culture has eroded, morale is at an all-time low, and healing requires changes at the top
1. Talks about really believing “don't be evil” especially as a contrast to Microsoft. As a Microsoftie at the time, it was really annoying to see a company take a moral stand that selling proprietary software was evil but showing ads was noble. … Bluesky: Greg Linden / @glinden.bsky.social : Very much agree with this piece, including the deterioration of the culture at Google to the point that it's now like old Microsoft under Ballmer, that the costs of Google layoffs are coming home, and that Sundar Pichai optimizes for quarterly stock price over the long-term success of the company. … X: Todd Volkert / @volkerttodd : On this day, I am very thankful and humbled to lead the @FlutterDev team. We have a clear mission, the best team I've ever had the pleasure to work with, strong support from Google's leadership, great open source contributors, and incredible momentum. Happy Thanksgiving! Lily Ray / @lilyraynyc : This was illuminating Elon Musk / @elonmusk : Big companies steadily increase their Dilbert score over time like entropy Max von Wolff / @maxvwolff : Big tech doesn't last forever. The median lifespan of a S&P 500 corp is just shy of 18 years. Stephen Hall / @stephenjhall : the problem at the end of the day is that Google is a big ad broker despite all attempts to be perceived otherwise it's unsustainable to cast a long term vision fiercely contrary to the economic reality of the company Christoph Nakazawa / @cpojer : Most middle management is cancer for an organization. There are few middle managers who are amazing at it. Nabeel S. Qureshi / @nabeelqu : “Today, I don't know anyone at Google who could explain what Google's vision is. Morale is at an all-time low. If you talk to therapists in the bay area, they will tell you all their Google clients are unhappy with Google.” Steven Godofsky / @sgodofsk : Companies don't need to have vision. Sometimes—in fact, usually—the best thing for a company with a very profitable business line to do is to milk it and forward the checks to investors. Separately I'm not convinced that companies with “vision” actually do better. Nabeel S. Qureshi / @nabeelqu : Sounds like Google needs its own Satya: [image] Aditya Thakur / @adityathakurxd : Among other things happening in tech, I did not expect to see this. It's tragic to learn about Hixie's resignation from Google after having worked there for 18 years. However, I am glad to know Hixie is not leaving Flutter. [image] Nash / @nash0x7e2 : Did all of tech decide to explode this week? damm... https://ln.hixie.ch/... Filip Hráček / @filiphracek : A video snippet about Hixie's departure from Google, and Google's cultural drift: https://www.youtube.com/... Barry Schwartz / @rustybrick : This must hurt for some Googlers (past and present) to read??? Shri Hacker / @shrihacker : Google has a lot of catching up to do layoffs made everyone into territorial wolves, the OG culture is gone, the leadership is visionless and come up with inane coporate policies just SAD source: https://ln.hixie.ch/... [image] Kamil C / @kchoudhu : Google has lost its way for sure, but this was a thinly veiled potshot at the specific person whose division owns the Dart runtime at Google. Nikhil Jois / @nikhiljoisr : Starting a company with great culture is hard but sustaining that culture over long periods of time is really hard. This post by a Googler who left after 18 years of being employed there is a good cautionary tale for us early stage folks. https://ln.hixie.ch/... @tickerguy : The “thousand monkey” mess that is Android (seriously, look inside the MediaServer code if you want to validate this — you'll throw up) and has NEVER been reimplemented (yeah, its tough due to the API compatibility problem, but not impossible) is a hallmark of this. @mycoliza : this is kind of a confirmation of the general sense of the vibe at Google that i have as an outsider, tbh: https://ln.hixie.ch/... @deliprao : This sentence will be seared in my mind forever. Although written in the context of Google, it applies everywhere, including the AI company in question this weekend. https://ln.hixie.ch/... [image] Zach / @swe_zach : It feel like it's pretty over for google. This is unfortunate. Where are we all going to go to retire now? @_inpractise : Sounds like $GOOG is going well.. https://ln.hixie.ch/... [image] Pitts / @pitts_man : Pretty devastating, but it's not surprising to close followers of Google's culture. https://ln.hixie.ch/... Alex Graveley / @alexgraveley : Treating engineers as commodity is symptom of promoting to mgmt track too early. Predictive in every zombie tech co. The answer is small teams, high autonomy, and firing fast. Nabeel S. Qureshi / @nabeelqu : Ouch. Rare to see someone being this publicly frank about problems at a large tech company (here Google): [image] Mike Rydstrom / @rydmike : For info and tech news more relevant to #FlutterDev than current OpenAI turmoil, head over to https://ln.hixie.ch/ and read about @hixie's departure from #Flutter team from himself. Thanks Hixie for all your work on @FlutterDev and glad to read you will continue to contribute BuccoCapital Guy / @buccocapital : Pretty damning essay from a Googler, departing after 18 years “I don't know anyone at Google who could explain what Google's vision is. Morale is at an all-time low” “The clock is ticking. The deterioration of Google's culture will become irreversible” https://ln.hixie.ch/... [image] Oleg Eterevsky / @eterevsky : @nabeelqu I've worked for Google under Eric, Larry and now Sundar and unfortunately I have to agree. Sundar's tenure brought a lot of bureaucracy and a fight against transparency. I stopped watching all-hands since it's 90% corpspeak. But Sundar is good at keeping the share price high. Tobi Lehman / @tlehmanifold : @nabeelqu This tracks with what I've observed. I applied at Google in 2022 and got in. Then while doing Team Matching, I decided against it because no one seemed to care about their work. They all seemed uninterested, not really driven. @takenpilot : @nabeelqu Basically, yes. Engineers were assigned to work somewhat arbitrarily, decided in meetings they were never invited to, and often based on deals or talks that had little to do with engineering or who they were. The “ramp-up” needed to change contexts between projects wasn't... Alessio Salvadorini / @asalvadorini : Straight in a row, Erik, Tim and now Hixie. Can't you keep your **** together @Google ? #flutter #Flutterdev Jarle Stabell / @jarlestabell : @ASalvadorini ... Yes, that's very sad. :( Makes it even more impressive what the Flutter team has continued to achieve. I'm not sure if it's necessary, but I believe many of us would be happy to contribute if @hixie needed funding to dedicate full time to exciting projects like blankcanvas etc. Tim Sneath / @timsneath : It's sad when a toxic manager causes the leadership of a great team to leave. Don't be that person. #Flutter Adam Singer / @adamsinger : @buccocapital People have been writing basically this same essay for many years LinkedIn: Lance Wiggs : “Decisions went from being made for the benefit of users, to the benefit of Google, to the benefit of whoever was making the decision.” … Jeremy Allison : Ian Hickson leaves Google, with rather a pointed goodbye summarizing the current state of the company. — I used to “share” an office with Hixie at Google. … Forums: r/programming : Reflecting on 18 years at Google
Context & Ripple Effects
A departing 18-year Google employee describes a widening gap between the company’s early values and its current employee experience, with criticism focused on leadership, management, and morale. The account follows evidence of tighter internal spending, including cuts to workplace perks and equipment refreshes.
The concern matters because it frames operational cost controls as more than a budget issue: later reports of Core-team layoffs and role moves to India and Mexico make employee trust and institutional continuity material questions for Google.
First-order effects
- Hickson’s departure and public account put Google’s cultural decline and low morale into sharper view for employees and prospective hires, while increasing scrutiny of senior leadership and middle management.
- The report does not establish an immediate policy change at Google; its direct effect is primarily reputational and internal, elevating claims that the company’s stated values no longer match staff experience.
Second-order effects
- If employees see cost controls and organizational changes through the lens of cultural erosion, retention risk can rise among experienced technical staff and make management’s execution harder.
- The later combination of Core-team reductions and offshore role shifts can reinforce those concerns, especially where teams depend on continuity in internal infrastructure and developer work.
Third-order effects
- If similar accounts persist alongside cost-cutting, Google may face a longer-term trade-off between near-term operating discipline and the institutional trust needed to retain experienced builders.
- The broader structural question is whether large technology companies can preserve mission-led cultures as decision-making becomes more centralized and financially focused; this report is evidence of employee skepticism, not proof of that outcome.
The trend: This is one data point in the shift from expansive, values-forward big-tech employment cultures toward leaner, more centrally managed organizations where cost discipline can test employee trust.