Surfboards lean against a wall at the Google office in Santa Monica, California, October 11, 2010. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc will give its staff a 10 percent pay increase at the start of next year, according to website Silicon Alley Insider.

Chief Executive Eric Schmidt informed Google’s more than 23,000 employees of the raise by email, the Wall Street Journal later reported.

Silicon Alley Insider, citing a reader, earlier reported that Google is giving all its employees a $1,000 holiday bonus in addition to pay increases of at least 10 percent.

“While we don’t typically comment on internal matters, we do believe that competitive compensation plans are important to the future of the company,” a Google spokesman said in an email.

The Internet industry is waging a “war for talent,” Google Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said on a call with analysts last month.