It is no hidden secret that Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. employs many contract workers each year. What's different this year is that the company had more contract workers than direct employees.
The company issues red name badges to the contract workers while the full-time employees receive white badges. Tens of thousands of people walk into Google offices wearing red badges every day. While these contract works use the same premises, ride the same commuter shuttle and work along with the full-time employees, they aren't entitled to all the privileges and perks that direct hires enjoy.
Alphabet Inc. reported employing 85,050 employees in the first quarter of 2018, the number jumped to 89,058 in Q2, it is unclear whether the number of contractors is higher than that. Hiring contractors helps the company save money and speed up the hiring process. They make less money in comparison to Alphabet direct employees but are quite important in the company's scheme of things to stay profitable.
Alphabet hires contractors typically for areas where it lacks expertise. Another important reason why Alphabet hires contractors is to cover for parental leave or spikes in work. Contract workers at Alphabet perform a wide array of tasks, right from custodial duties to programming positions. Apart from the benefits, even the pay scale for contract workers is less than full-time employees.
Sometimes Alphabet relies on staffing firms like Adecco and Cognizant to hire contract workers. These companies offer the same company perks as regular employees including free food, and other insurances.
There are many advantages of hiring contract employees such as it results in the company not putting any efforts in training these workers, which results in immediate productivity as soon as the employee joins.