Search Engine Journal points to some Twitter postings from Mary Hodder that suggest Google is laying off qualified engineers as part of a mandate to reduce headcount across the board. Apparently this is being done “quietly” so as not to alert press. Guess not.

It’s critical to stress that all this is just rumor but Mary Hodder’s credibility is endorsed by former Ask CEO Jim Lanzone. And if you read the comments back and forth it all seems credible. We’ll wait for Google’s public statement.

There are two responses to this news: Why would Google with all its cash and revenues be axing quality engineering talent? Cost reduction is of course the answer. So does this represent a kind of failure to resist the crazy making short-term thinking demands of Wall Street? Do these layoffs, if true, also represent a kind of end to the “different kind of company” image and mentality at Google?

Another view is more interesting in my opinion. This story and many others like it represent the shift in our culture and how tools like blogs and Twitter make it impossible for companies to do anything secretly or under the radar at this point.

Related Topics: Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling