Google is asking that cloud employees and partners share desks

• The new seating arrangement has been dubbed “Cloud Office Evolution”.
• Google also used internal data from its employee office return patterns to inform its decision
• It has slowed hiring and laid off 11,000 workers in January.

Google is asking cloud employees and partners to share desks and alternate days with their coworkers beginning next quarter, citing “real estate efficiency,” according to media reports.

According to an internal FAQ recently shared with cloud employees and viewed by media, the new desk-sharing model will apply to Google Cloud’s five largest U.S. locations: Kirkland, Washington; New York City; San Francisco; Seattle; and Sunnyvale, California. As a result, some buildings will be vacated, according to the document.

“Most Googlers will now share a desk with one other Googler,” according to the internal document, adding that they expect employees to come in on alternate days so they are not at the same desk on the same day. “Through the matching process, they will agree on a basic desk configuration and establish norms with their desk partner and teams to ensure a positive experience in the new shared environment.”

Employees may come in on other days, according to the FAQ, but if they come in on an unassigned day, they will use “overflow drop-in space.”

Internally, the new seating arrangement has been dubbed “Cloud Office Evolution,” or “CLOE,” and is described as “combining the best of pre-pandemic collaboration with the flexibility” of hybrid work. According to the document, the new workspace plan is not a trial run. “Ultimately, this will lead to more efficient use of our space,” it said.

According to the FAQ, Google also used internal data from its employee office return patterns to inform its decision. Aside from slower office return patterns, the company has slowed hiring and laid off 11,000 workers in January.

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