Almost 1,400 employees at Google's parent company Alphabet have signed a petition calling for better treatment of staff during the layoff process after the company announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs.
In an open letter addressed to Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, Google employees made a series of demands to the company, including freezing new hires, seeking voluntary redundancies before compulsory ones, giving priority to laid off workers for job vacancies and letting workers finish scheduled periods of paid time off, such as parental and bereavement leave.
The workers also called on Alphabet to avoid terminating employees from countries with active conflicts or humanitarian crises, such as Ukraine, and provide extra support to those at risk of losing their visa-linked residency along with their jobs.
Here's what the 5 demands in the letter were mentioned.
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¡ªinternal and external¡ªand 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, the letter mentioned, as per TOI.
The petition comes after Alphabet¡¯s announcement in January that it would cut about 6% of its workforce following investor pressure to reduce spending in the post-pandemic slump. Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Microsoft Corp. are among the other tech giants to slash headcount in recent months after years of growth and hiring.
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Although some Google workers, particularly in the US, lost their jobs immediately, the process has been much slower for those in countries with stronger labour protections that are common in Europe. Googlers in Switzerland, for example, only learned which workers were cut last week, triggering a walkout.
The letter was organized by a group of employees supported by unions including the Alphabet Workers Union, United Tech and Allied Workers and UNI Global. It was born out of discussions via a Discord channel set up after the jobs cuts were announced, as per Bloomberg.
Labour groups have helped organize several petitions regarding the layoffs at various Google units and in different countries where it is present.
Some of the people who signed the petition told Bloomberg they are concerned that the consultation processes required by law in some countries have become a box-ticking exercise. Feedback from staff to management, including results of surveys where people expressed interest in volunteering for redundancy or reduced hours, has not been taken into account, they said.
The workers plan to circulate the petition for a few more days before presenting a physical copy to Pichai at Google¡¯s headquarters in California.
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