[vonmoltke]

> So you're saying Google doesn't give a shit about its net profits?

Google obviously gives a shit about its net profits.

> So you're saying that Google's board weren't all hired with the express instruction to maximise earnings per share?

Board members aren't "hired", they're elected by the shareholders. They are not employees of the corporation (usually) and they do not have contracts with shareholders. Shareholders will, obviously, vote them out if company performance suffers.

[Devils_Avocado]

Who pays the salary & bonuses? Who owns the entity that pays the salary & bonuses?

[vonmoltke]

> Who pays the salary & bonuses?

Salary and bonuses for who? The board doesn't get salary and bonuses.

> Who owns the entity that pays the salary & bonuses?

Corporate ownership is a complex topic. The oversimplification that shareholders "own" a fractional portion of the corporation is not entirely accurate and breaks down in complex cases like this. You get into share classes, the status of the corporate entity as an independent legal entity (which, in turn, goes down a rabbit hole that leads to corporations as non-natural people), and what power shareholders have over the guidance of the corporate entity.

[TheOtherHobbes]

Also, it's hardly rare for boards to make self-destructive insanely stupid decisions for what must have seemed like good reasons at the time.

Boards are not infallible, nor are the people on them. They're not even infallible at maximising profit - never mind trying to handle challenging cultural problems without being eaten alive by them.