Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt apologizes for remote work rant against old employer

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has quickly walked back comments criticizing his old company’s remote work policy, which he blamed for AI challenges and falling behind competitors.

My Error

“I misspoke about Google and their work hours,” Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal. “I regret my error.”

A Recording

A recording of his recent lecture at Stanford University, which was posted on the college’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, earned more than 40,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon before it was taken down.

In the video, Schmidt claimed that Google has lost the lead in AI to startups like OpenAI and Anthropic because of its stance on working from home.

“Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning,” Schmidt told students. “And the reason startups work is because the people work like hell.”

“I’m sorry to be so blunt,” Schmidt, who left Google for good in 2020, continued. 

“But the fact of the matter is, if you all leave the university and go found a company, you’re not gonna let people work from home and only come in one day a week if you want to compete against the other startups.”

Schmidt’s initial claim that Google’s lack of innovation in the AI department was due to staff working from home more than those at OpenAI fell immediately flat. As Fortune noted, they have the same 3-day in-office policy.

Likewise, Anthropic workers are allowed to work from home for 75% of the workweek.

“Flexible work arrangements don’t slow down our work,” Alphabet Workers Union, which represents more than 1,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada, hit back in a post on X. 

Factors

“Understaffing, shifting priorities, constant layoffs, stagnant wages and lack of follow-through from management on projects—these factors slow Google workers down every day.”

About E. J. McKay

E.J.McKay is a Shanghai-headquartered investment bank with a special focus on mergers & acquisitions. We are one of the most long standing independent investment banks in China, with core business of mergers & acquisitions and financing advisory.