Google Workers Stage Protests Against 12K Layoffs, Low Contractor Pay, and Poor Subcontractor Conditions

John Lopez, Tech Times 03 February 2023, 12:02 pm

Google workers in New York and California recently staged protests against the company's recent layoff of approximately 12,000 employees, which is the largest round of cuts in the company's history.

According to The New York Post, the protests were also aimed at low pay for contractors and poor working conditions for subcontractors.

Google Workers Protest

In Manhattan, around 50 employees participated in a protest outside a Google store. Meanwhile, a separate protest was held outside Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, focusing on subcontractors' working conditions, according to Bloomberg.

The protests were organized by the Alphabet Workers Union, which has over 1,200 members, including full-time employees and contractors.

The demonstrations started right around the time that Alphabet, the company that owns Google, disclosed its financial results for the fourth quarter, which revealed a profit of $13.62 billion on revenue of $76.05 billion.

The massive layoffs that affected both long-term employees and top performers stood in stark contrast to the enormous profits that the company posted.

With this, how the company handled the cutbacks has come under scrutiny, with some affected employees learning about their layoffs through emails or news reports.

Google CEO Pichai previously stated that since terminations would take effect right away, American workers would be the first to be impacted. Due to local laws, layoff procedures in other countries would take longer.

Google Justifies Recent Job Cuts

Google CEO Sundar Pichai justified the cost-cutting drive as a defense against unfavorable market conditions.

On the other hand, the workers contend that the company's high profits, layoffs, low contractor pay, and subpar working conditions for subcontractors are unacceptable.

"Today, Google has debunked its own rationale for laying off 12,000 of our coworkers," software engineer Alberta Devor told reporters.

"It is clear that the menial savings the company is pocketing from laying off workers is nothing in comparison to the billions spent on stock buybacks or the billions made in profit last quarter," she added.

Severance Package

As previously reported by Tech Times, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated that the company would assist affected employees in their search for new opportunities. The following are the services that the multinational technology corporation will provide:

Bonuses and remaining vacation time will be paid in 2022.
Six months of healthcare, job placement assistance, and immigration assistance will be provided.
Employees affected outside the United States who follow local practices will be compensated.
A severance package starting at 16 weeks' salary plus two weeks for every additional year at Google will be provided, as will an acceleration of at least 16 weeks of GSU vesting.
Employees will be paid for the entire notification period (minimum of 60 days).
Aside from Google employees, employees at other tech companies are also facing job cuts and salary issues.

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