Sounds like a mis-communication between recruiter and one or both other sides (whatever Google team the recruiter was recruiting for and the applicant).
Of course, it's true that Google has been on a headcount reduction bent for over a year for some departments (and headcount has been capped for many others). It's not been implemented as a total hiring freeze, though...they're just not replacing people who leave those departments. Perhaps one of those departments failed to notify their recruiter that they no longer had new openings.
Of course, it's true that Google has been on a headcount reduction bent for over a year for some departments (and headcount has been capped for many others). It's not been implemented as a total hiring freeze, though...they're just not replacing people who leave those departments. Perhaps one of those departments failed to notify their recruiter that they no longer had new openings.