In an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, more than 1,400 Google employees called for better management of the company’s mass layoffs. The letter calls on Pichai and his management team to remember the company’s code of conduct, which reads, “don’t be evil.”
Business Insider reports that Google CEO Sundar Pichai informed his staff via email in January that the company would be laying off about 12,000 employees and that he accepted “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.” In an open letter, Google workers assert that “nowhere has the voice of the workers been adequately considered, and we know that as workers we are stronger together than alone.”
The workers want Google to think about freezing new hires and giving laid-off workers priority for open positions. Additionally, they want the employer to permit workers to complete pre-planned leaves like parental and bereavement leave.
Employees who have been laid off have spoken out about their experiences since the layoffs were announced. One husband claimed he and his wife were in “disbelief” when they learned they had both lost their jobs. Another ex-Googler who was caring for his mother’s terminal illness claimed to have lost his job to Insider.
One Google worker who made it through the layoffs told Insider that some of the people who were kept on were sobbing in meetings the day the layoffs were announced. Employees are furious about the layoffs and feel their concerns have not been adequately addressed by the company, according to the workers who spoke to Insider.
A request for comment from Insider made outside of regular business hours was not immediately answered by Google or the Alphabet Workers Union.
The open letter draws attention to the lack of openness and dialogue with employees during the decision-making process. The workers feel that their voices have not been sufficiently heard and that their combined strength is greater than their individual strength.
Breitbart News previously reported that one of the most high-profile layoffs was Google’s head of mental health and wellbeing.
One particularly affected employee was Kristin Maczko, who had served as Director of Google’s mental health and wellbeing team since July 2021. Nearly 15 years into her employment with the company, Maczko called her position a “dream job.” Maczko stated on her LinkedIn profile: “These last few days, I’ve experienced a wide range of emotions. I regret having to say goodbye to my many friends and coworkers at Google.”
Although she did not give an exact figure, Maczko added that many members of Google’s mental health and wellbeing team had also been let go. Google has not yet responded to requests for comment, raising concerns about how much the team has been impacted.
Many employees have expressed their confusion and frustration regarding the layoffs; some have said they received impersonal emails informing them of their termination. Many who were laid off felt suddenly cut off from their workplace when the company swiftly disabled the work laptops and accounts of those who were fired. An engineer who requested anonymity and has worked for Google for more than ten years told Insider, “It’s just not logical. People with years of experience, who are excellent workers, who had skills and knowledge, are being laid off, and they were just shooed out the door without even speaking to the managers who oversee them and have a true understanding of their capabilities.”
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan