Google 'sacked Apple pioneer over leaked Schmidt memo'

Google has sacked Randy Wigginton — a software engineer who was employee number six at Apple — for leaking Eric Schmidt's memo announcing a company-wide pay raise and bonus, according to a report citing a "well-placed source close to Google." Gawker reports that Wigginton is "widely believed within the company to be the fired …

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait...

...so $1,000 bonuses are paid in cash? That some kind of tax dodge? In the UK at least such bonuses would go through payroll and be taxable (as they are, after all, taxable income)

[JonHendry]

Not a tax dodge.

I suppose the idea is for the employees to spend it.

It would be taxed, but I think Google was also going to pay the tax. (Which I suppose would also be taxed... und so weite, so I don't know quite how that ends.)

[Blake St. Claire]

net up

> ... Google was also going to pay the tax. (Which I suppose would also be taxed...

It's pretty simple really. If you want to give a "full" $1000 bonus then you actually give, e.g. $1600, and the net, after taxes is $1000.

Did they pay it out in cold hard cash? I don't know, but they might have done it for the novelty factor. That doesn't seem too far fetched.

He was employee number six at Apple? Distinguished Engineer at eBay? One of the Oompaloompas at Google? I'd wager he's got plenty of dough and probably works because he likes to, not because he needs to.

[Catroast]

Probably not.

A big corporation like Google would most likely not give real cash bonuses. At the company I work for, which is fairly large, cash bonuses are through payroll and get reported as income. I'm sure this would be a liability if Google did not do this.

[Code Monkey]

I doubt it would be cash

$1000 for every employee at the Chocolate Factory. Untold millions arriving in actual cash? I doubt it.

On tax - my understanding was that Google would pay the tax.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not real cash

They are Google dollars. They are some kind of Monopoly banknotes with a unique ID on them that can only be redeemed through Google Checkout on an Android phone.

[Anonymous Coward]

stonr age google hm?

SO Google HR people LIVE IN THE STONE AGE and DOES KNOW ABOUT BANK ACCOUNT

[Restricted Access]

Monkeys and typewriters

Almost lads. Keep up the good work.

[Angus 2]

@ Restricted Access

Solid gold! :D

[alwarming]

It's a personnel matter.

that's can't be public, as opposed to a personal matter.

Paris, coz her personal matters are, well, public enough.

[Daniel B.]

Cash?

Big company gives out bonus money ... in cash? In the US? Even in my country where cash is common, most bonus/rewards are made by direct deposit or by cheque. I actually consider the "cash out" culture common in Mexico a stupid idea, because it is precisely the kind of thinking that leads to you being mugged for that cash.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sitting on big piles of money?

Do they have money fights like Mr Burns and Smithers in Google HQ?

[Fashtas]

A fool and his money?

Doesn't really make any difference if the bonus was in cash or German Christmas Dumplings

Employee was specifically told, multiple times, not to do something

Employee did that thing for 5 minutes of Internet Fame amongst his buddies

I'd have sacked him too

[Bryce Prewitt]

Thankfully

I'm fairly sure that you don't hold any respected position of authority at any big name firms. Just a guess, of course.

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree with OP

If you are specifically asked by your employer NOT to do something, multiple time, and then you do it anyway, that's gross misconduct, and therefor a sackable offence. I would certainly have no hesitation is removing the obviously untrustworthy person from the company. This is not a case of whistleblowing, which is a different kettle of fish. This is simply giving out private company news to a third party.

He, sadly for him, got what he deserved.

[Bryce Prewitt]

@ AC, 11:21

This thread is absolutely amazing. I doubt you'd find any sane person assert that Google is trustworthy in the least, yet for some reason you people blindly trust them when they say they warned this employee repeatedly?

Yes, because a large multinational corporation known to commit evil would never, ever lie about internal politics, now would they?

[My Alter Ego]

What does the size of the company matter?

As for the bonus being cash, it could be that Google thought it'd be different, and it is. You get to hold the bonus in your hand, rather than it just increasing some numbers on your on-line banking page.

[SilverWave]

Cash?

Oh come on!

[Antidisestablishmentarianist]

"The Vault"

So each of the 20k employees lined up and got their 1k cash handed to them off the 20m pile just inside the vault they have at Google? Then feared for their lives on the way home, chauffeured in the Google buses?

LOL. Whatever.

[iamandami]

Randy Wigginton's Last Stand With Google

If there is one thing we know about weird crazy but very talented lumber jacks with a resume of who’s who in gadget and tech toys- eventually the fun and weirdness that is you stops to be fun (sorry Randy- you were just too rare a species to love unconditionally) and the first chance the brass get to send you back to your derelict ways is the first day your linkedin account says ex instead of current employee. Never mind Randy, you can now go get that job selling self destructive tin mines deep in the forest.

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/11/randy-wigginton-wants-to-tell-you-its-never-a-good-idea-to-leak-an-imminent-google-pay-raise/

[Anonymous Coward]

A Man From Mars

Is that you?

[Anonymous Coward]

Employee retention problems?

Sounds like a really lovely place to work.

[Silent but Deadly]

If they used a real email system...

He could have shelduled the email to be sent after after his fellow googlers were home and safe.

[Anonymous Coward]

What?

This is Randy Wigginton. I think he'd have managed the trivial task of scheduling an email even if, by some bizarre circumstance, he only had the opportunity to use Outlook.

[Catroast]

Cash Bonuses in the US

"Cash" bonuses in the US are given through payroll and are taxed and reported as income.

[The Fuzzy Wotnot]

WTF?!

"mugged while carrying holiday bonus cash on their way home in the dark"

So with all the tech Google has, they can't use bank transfers? Every Friday they hand out little brown envelopes with cash in them?

Hilarious!

[John 62]

"a source close to google"

eh? so there's been another leak leaking the name of the leaker?

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn you!

Nobody mentioned it until now, why did you have to leak it?

[Anonymous Coward]

So now he's a free man

"Randy Wigginton — a software engineer who was employee number six at Apple"

So, I know who's number 1, but since Woz left, who's the new number 2?

Besides, I'm sure Randy would object because he's not a number.