Google Cuts Temporary Workers, But Murky on Details

The SEC filing won't resolve the mystery either. The 4,300 temporary workers mentioned in those documents represent a "subset" of the 10,000 contractors that Brin cited in October, so it would be incorrect to conclude the difference between the two figures reflects the total number of people cut by Google, spokeswoman Jane Penner said Wednesday. Penner would not specify how many contractors Google has eliminated.

The disclosures were made in an application seeking an exemption from rules that would regulate Google as a mutual fund if its investment activities diversify too far beyond government securities and other relatively low-yielding instruments such as money market accounts.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has been seeking the waiver since July 2006, hoping to reap higher returns from its $14.4 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Google also wants the exemption so it can be on more equal footing with rivals like Microsoft (MSFT Quote) and Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) Microsoft, with about $21 billion in cash and short-term investments, received a waiver in 1988. Yahoo, with $3.2 billion in cash and marketable securities, has had the exemption since 2000.

A company can fall under the mutual fund regulations once its investments exceed 40% of its assets. Google's investment securities represented 28% of its assets as of Sept. 30, but the company believes it could surpass the 40% threshold if it ventures into more lucrative options such as municipal bonds.

Although the company's revenue is still rising, Google's growth has been decelerating. The recession has caused consumers to shop less frequently on the Internet and advertisers have trimmed their marketing budgets. Those factors have slowed the money flowing to Google because online ads generate virtually all the company's revenue, which is expected to total about $20 billion in 2008.