Employees at Google are concerned that changes to the performance evaluation system will result in lower bonuses

After laying off 11,000 employees in January, Google workers who managed to keep their jobs are now concerned about their bonuses.

They believe that the company’s employee-review process has been altered to reduce their annual payouts.

A few weeks before the January layoffs, CNBC had reported that Google had updated its GRAD (Googler Reviews and Development) system to categorize 6% of employees as underperformers, compared to the previous 2%.

Similarly, the revised GRAD system now marks only 22% of employees as above average, a decrease from the previous 27%. The report, which The Post confirmed, indicates that employees were initially apprehensive that the stricter GRAD system would be used to terminate their employment.

CNBC reported that Google plans to review bonuses, pay, and equity and intends to spend more per person on compensation. The company also plans to pay within the top 5% to 10% of market rates, according to documents cited by CNBC.

However, two Google employees who survived the January layoffs told The Post that their annual bonuses were reduced after receiving an average rating in the five-tier GRAD system, despite having received promotions the previous year. They believe that the revamped GRAD system is another cost-cutting measure that may lead to more layoffs.

“We used to have a very forgiving culture where you’d get time to rebound from mistakes,” one source told The Post. “Now they’re trying to ‘manage people out.’”

“Google is trying to improve our reputation to be more like that of Amazon where it’s more intense and productive,” the source added.