- In an open letter, the Googlers point the finger at the brutal layoff strategy of their CEO Sundar Pinchai
- They suggest that their manager make public commitments to make the company’s method more humane
- More than 1,400 employees have signed this letter, which ends with a reference to “Don’t be Evil” (don’t be maliciousin French), the former slogan of the firm…
On January 20, 2023, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced in an internal email the loss of approximately 12,000 jobs. The leader, weakened by the firm’s recent unconvincing demonstrations in terms of AI and its strategy while all of tech is going through a zone of turbulence, that he assumed “full responsibility for the decisions that brought us here”.
This massive redundancy plan has already given rise to some strange situations. Which translates first of all into many bad surprises. Google has cut so much into its workforce that no one, not even experienced employees with highly rated work internally, has escaped the ax.
Google layoff plan caused heartbreaking cases
This is the case, for example, of this husband, quoted by Business Insider, who says that he and his wife looked at each other “in disbelief” after learning that they had both been fired. Some cases go further and question the empathy capacities of the firm’s human resources.
Like this former Google employee who tells the economic site that he learned of the loss of his job while he was on leave… to better take care of his mother who is suffering from terminal cancer. Employees affected by layoffs did not even have the right to a farewell drink with their colleagues.
Leading to tearful employees in the meetings that followed the announcements that day. This is the reason why employees who survived the social plan decided to send an open letter to their boss Sundar Pichai. The open letter, very critical of the company’s methods, was signed by more than 1,400 employees.
In this letter, they call on their management for more humanity, and want to show that the core of the remaining employees share the same feeling: “nowhere has the voice of workers been given sufficient weight, and we know that as workers we are stronger together than alone”.
Sundar Pichai did not respect the slogan “Don’t be Evil” according to these employees
In an attempt to reverse some layoffs, the signatories are calling on the company to freeze new hires during the procedure, and to recall laid-off employees first as needed for vacant positions. But also to promote internal replacements when possible.
Because the irony of fate is that right after the announcement of these layoffs, there was the release of ChatGPT – which since then seems to have largely left Alphabet off guard. Employees are also asking management to let employees affected by layoff complete their scheduled leaves, such as parental and bereavement leaves. They also want “dismissed workers are notified in person and can say goodbye to their colleagues”.
Beyond that, the company’s employees are asking Sundar Pichai to “protect (his) colleagues from countries in active conflict or in humanitarian crisis (such as Ukraine, Russia, etc.)” and of “ensure that there are no discriminatory effects based on sex, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic identity, caste, veteran status, religion and disability”.
The letter ends with an appeal to Alphabet management: “We call on you, and Alphabet more generally, to make these essential public commitments. Our company has always touted its positive action towards its users and employees, and these commitments will show that Alphabet lives up to the last line of its Code of Conduct: Do not be malicious. We know it is within your reach and you have the ability to achieve it.“
