‘Don’t be evil’: 5 demands of Google employees in letter to Sundar Pichai after mass layoffs

Google employees, miffed with the way the company handled its recent mass layoffs, have penned an open letter to CEO Sundar Pichai chalking out five demands.

Signed by more than 1,400 employees, the letter started off by saying although Google parent company Alphabet’s job cuts had a global impact, the grievances of its workers have not been heard. “…we know that as workers we are stronger together than alone,” the letter noted.

Employees have demanded that the company halt new hiring while slashing jobs and ask for ‘voluntary redundancies’ before implementing mandatory layoffs.

Priority should be accorded to recently sacked workers during rehire processes and internal job postings by scrapping the need for interviews. Fired employees should also be given fair severance.

Also read: Google denies paying remainder of maternity leave, allege laid-off employees

The letter has sought enhanced protection and support for employees from conflict-ridden countries like Ukraine and Russia. In cases where an employee being fired would result in visa complications, the workers have asked for extra help in finding new employment.

The demands also included a need to respect scheduled time off like maternity and bereavement leave by not terminating employment during that period. The signed letter also requested sacked employees to be given a chance to bid farewell to their colleagues and to avoid discrimination in layoffs

In January, Pichai had announced that the tech giant was forced to reduce nearly 12,000 jobs and that he took “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.” Many employees have since shared heartening stories of the ‘insensitive’ manner in which the company, once known for its excellent employee benefits, dealt with handing the pink slips.

Read the full letter here:

Sundar,

The impacts of Alphabet’s decision to reduce its workforce are global. Nowhere have workers’ voices adequately been considered, and we know that as workers we are stronger together than alone. We are thus coming together across the world to be heard.

Specifically we are asking for the following public commitments from you:

1) Freeze all new hires during the layoff process. First ask for voluntary redundancies and voluntary working time reduction before compulsory layoffs. Allow for employee ‘swaps’ to further avoid compulsory redundancies.

2) Grant priority rehire to any Alphabet employees that have been recently laid off. Prioritize internal transfer options, prioritized access to jobs without the need to re-interview and agree to a fair severance package.

3) Protect our co-workers from countries with active conflicts or humanitarian crises (such as Ukraine, Russia, etc). Do not terminate employment when it would adversely affect visas, which could require workers to return to unsafe or unstable countries. Provide extra support to these and workers at risk of residence permit loss: help with job searches—internal and external—and provide adequate gardening leave.

4) Respect scheduled leaves (Maternity, Baby Bonding, Carer’s and Bereavement) and do not give notice until the leave is finished. Workers given notice will be notified in-person and will be given the opportunity to say good-bye to their coworkers.

5) Ensure there will be no discriminatory effects based on sex, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic identity, caste, veteran status, religion, and disability.

We call on you and Alphabet more broadly to make these critical public commitments. Our company has long touted its commitment to doing right by its users and workers, and these commitments will show Alphabet adhering to the final line of its Code of Conduct: Don’t Be Evil.

We know this is within your means and your ability to accomplish.