Google is on track with its plans to hire 60 to 75 employees in Michigan this year, and the company’s executive chairman said Thursday that the search engine giant has benefitted from a good work ethic and low turnover rate at its two offices in the state.
“It’s more family-centric,” Eric Schmidt said of the culture at Google’s Ann Arbor and Birmingham offices. “People tend to have families earlier” than in California.
By year’s end, Google should have about 375 employees in Michigan, mostly at its Ann Arbor advertising sales office. More than 43,500 companies and nonprofit groups in Michigan use Google’s Adwords and AdSense online advertising products.
Schmidt served as CEO of Google from 2001 until April. On Thursday, after visiting one of the Detroit automakers, he met with a handful of small and medium-size businesses at the headquarters of Ideal Shield, a southwest Detroit manufacturer of guardrails, handrails and other products.
During the meeting, Schmidt advised the local businesses to find something that will set them apart from competitors and urged them to continuously innovate. “A small businessneeds to always have a new thing,” he said.
Schmidt also said things are going well with the Google Car, a research project that aims to create a driverless vehicle. “It’s driveable,” he noted in a brief question-and-answer session with reporters.
By Katherine Yung, Detroit Free Press
