Angry Google employees are mocking CEO Sundar Pichai's pay hike with memes, including one of a 'Shrek' villain, report says

• Some Google employees aren't happy about Sundar Pichai's $226 million paycheck.
• Memes targeting the executive's pay have been posted on Google's internal forums, CNBC reported.
• One meme referenced the "Shrek" villain Lord Farquaad, per the outlet.

Some Google employees aren't happy about CEO Sundar Pichai's pay packet amid the company's cost-cutting. 

Several workers have been venting on internal systems, sharing memes criticizing the chief executive for receiving a pay increase during a difficult time for the company, CNBC reported. 

Per the outlet, one meme showed Lord Farquaad from "Shrek," quoting his infamous line, "Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make." Per CNBC, the accompanying text read: "Sundar accepting $226 million while laying off 12k Googlers, cutting perks, and destroying morale and culture." 

In January, Google laid off around 12,000 workers, or 6% of its global workforce. At the time, Pichai said he took "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here" as the company had "hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today." Since then, the company has continued to cut back on its infamous perks.

However, Pichai's pay packet was boosted last year due to stock awards worth $218 million. According to court filings, the executive was paid a total of $226 million in 2022, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in the US. 

At the company's all-hands meeting, however, he said Google executives would take a "very significant reduction in their annual bonus," as Insider previously reported.

Representatives for Google did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.