Facebook is stacking up the ex-Googlers at a rapid pace. Kara Swisher is reporting that Facebook has grabbed Elliot Schrage, Google’s vice president of global communications and public affairs. This is a big hit to Google and it is a trend that is expected to continue. The most remarkable part of this is that Facebook is going straight to the top for hiring rather than grabbing those that are lower down the chain of command.

According to Kara, Elliot will be reporting directly to Sheryl Sandberg, the new COO at Facebook who also once worked at Google. Based on all the employees jumping ship from Google and joining the Facebook team, it appears that many employees see a great opportunity to be part of the much anticipated Facebook IPO, whenever that may take place. It will be interesting to see how Facebook’s interaction with the press changes with this new hire.

Facebook has been criticized on a number of occasions for mismanagement of their PR strategy. Eventually Facebook adapted and began reaching out both bloggers and the press as new changes were announced. While there’s not much that can be read into on this new hire, one thing is for sure: Facebook doesn’t appear to be slowing down. A quick look at their most recent traffic chart on Alexa, shows that growth continues to soar. This is yet another big hire for the Facebook team.