Google · Meta · California · Wired · The Guardian Technology
Thousands of Google workers demand layoff protections amid AI boom in petition to CEO
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Google workers on Thursday delivered a petition calling for layoff protections as tech giants continue to slash their workforces while pouring billions into AI.
Key facts
- Block laid off almost half of its workforce, roughly 4,000 employees, earlier this year, with its CEO, Jack Dorsey, citing efficiency gains due to AI
- At Thursday’s press conference, workers called out Alphabet’s mass layoffs in 2023, which drew shouts of “shame” from the crowd
- Make no mistake: this is a company that is enjoying massive, unprecedented success,” Parul Koul, Google software engineer and Alphabet Workers Union president, said outside the company’s California
- Google Cloud quietly laid off some employees about two months ago, according to Business Insider
Summary
“Make no mistake: this is a company that is enjoying massive, unprecedented success,” Parul Koul, Google software engineer and Alphabet Workers Union president, said outside the company’s California headquarters after delivering the petition to the office of the CEO, Sundar Pichai’. The petition, which was led by the union and includes more than 4,500 signatures, calls for guaranteed severance, buyouts before mandatory layoffs in all product areas and the option to take severance as extended paid leave. Upon delivering the petition, workers were “greeted with closed doors and no response for the most part”, Koul said. At Thursday’s press conference, workers called out Alphabet’s mass layoffs in 2023, which drew shouts of “shame” from the crowd.