Google gives everyone 10% raise, bonus

FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE WEEK: Check this out, boys and girls—Google will give every one of its 25,000 employees worldwide a 10% raise and a $1,000 cash bonus on Jan. 1, Business Insider reported, citing an internal email sent by CEO Eric "Santa" Schmidt. "We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work, and we want to continue to attract the best people to Google," Schmidt wrote. The company will also move a portion of the bonuses into its employees' base salaries, "so now it's income you can count on, every time you get your paycheck," Schmidt explained. In addition, each employee gets an additional raise equivalent to 1X the employee's target bonus for the year, while becoming eligible for additional "merit increases" based on their individual performance. In yet another nice gesture, Google will pay the taxes on the $1,000 holiday cash bonuses, thus allowing employees to keep the whole thing. Hot damn. Makes you wanna pull out your It’s a Wonderful Life DVD. On the other hand, the employee who leaked the news will reportedly be fired. (11/11a)