Google to Give Staff 10% Raise

Moving to plug the defection of staff to competitors, Google Inc. is giving a 10% raise to all of its 23,000 employees effective January 1.

The pay hike comes as Google ramps up its battle with competitors, especially neighboring Facebook Inc., in a fight to secure talented staff. Roughly 10% of Facebook's employees are Google veterans and other Silicon Valley companies have aggressively poached employees from the Internet giant. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt disclosed the raise in an email to employees, saying the company wants to lift morale. "We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work," Mr. Schmidt wrote. "We want to continue to attract the best people to Google." Facebook, Twitter Fail Security Report Card. Access thousands of business sources not available on the free web. Learn More .Mr. Schmidt wrote that company surveys indicate salary is more important to Google employees than any other component of pay, such as bonuses or equity. He added the company was moving a portion of employees' bonuses into their base salaries, so they would receive some of it in every paycheck.