Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) poach the most talent from other big tech companies, accounting for one out of every four employees at these two companies.
What Happened: A new survey has shed light on just how intensely Google and Meta poach talent from their rivals.
The survey analyzed LinkedIn profiles of big tech companies like Google, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Meta, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and others to understand how current and former employees of these companies have moved from one company and industry to others.
Overall, the key takeaway is that Google and Meta were able to poach the highest number of employees from their big tech rivals. While Meta's workforce comprises 26.51% of employees who worked for other tech companies, the number stood at 24.15% for Google.
Company% of former tech employees
- Meta26.51%
- Google24.15%
- Salesforce20.66%
- Nvidia17.48%
- Adobe14.17%
IBM hired the least number of former big tech employees, at just 2.88%. This is because IBM relies on in-house talent - over 90% of its interns go on to become full-time employees at the company.
Google Tops In Absolute Terms
However, in absolute terms, Google poached the most, at 38,316 employees.
More than half of these employees are from just two companies - Microsoft and Amazon. While 12,018 former Microsoft employees now work for Google, it stands at 8,023 for Amazon.
Given their larger workforces, other big tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple edge down Meta in absolute numbers.
Current employees from other tech companies
- Google38,316
- Microsoft27,248
- Amazon18,948
- Apple16,669
- Meta15,527
On the other hand, employees leaving Meta also leave the tech industry altogether. This could be indicative of the intense pressure they might be at Meta or that they are appreciated better in other industries.