Google Plans To Axe 300 DoubleClick Staff in USA Following Acquisition; Freezes Hiring

The “do no evil” mantra of Google is slowly fading into oblivion as Google, like any other large corporation, plans to axe 300 jobs from newly acquired DoubleClick Inc. This is the first time that Google has made significant job cuts.

DoubleClick employs another 300 people worldwide, including UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, China, Australia and Singapore. These overseas employees could also be laid off in the future as the integration process continues, Google warned.

DoubleClick’s helps companies to run targeted online advertising campaigns and was an early innovator in online advertising.

Google had over 16,800 employees worldwide at the end of 2007.

Omniously Google’s executives recently said that they plan to scale back hiring at the company.

According to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney and Bank of America analyst Brian Pitz, Google’s paid clicks were up 3.1 percent in February from a year ago. That growth rate follows a 0.3 percent decline in January. If you factor out the extra day in February 2008, Google’s paid click growth was flat.

Overall, comScore reported February searches on Google’s U.S. sites were up 30 percent from a year ago indicating a deceleration of growth from January.

All of these makes me wonder whether 300 doubleclick employees are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.