• Mercury News, Tuesday, January 25, 2011 2:26 PM

Continuing where it left off last year, Google reportedly plans to hire over 6,000 employees in 2011. "With the hiring plans, Google will have more than 30,000 employees by the start of 2012," writes MecuryNews.com, "a workforce still significantly smaller than Silicon Valley giants like Intel, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, but more than double the size of rivals like Yahoo, and more than six times the size of the company that has become its most formidable competitor -- Facebook."

Regarding the hiring binge, Google SVP Alan Eustace says, "Obviously, we're optimistic about the future." While much of the hiring will happen stateside, the company also plans to add more than 1,000 workers in Europe, many of them in and around its hub in Munich, Germany, according to outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt. Google presently has more than 60 offices in some 30 countries. Still, Eustace tells MecuryNews.com that Google plans to hire at least 2,000 people around its main headquarters in Mountain View, at San Bruno-based YouTube and in its San Francisco offices.

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