Google Workers Send Petition To CEO Amid Fears Of Layoffs

In recent years, January has been a period of layoffs for Google. Apparently, the company carries out its annual performance reviews during that period. Fearing an upcoming round of layoffs, a union of Google workers has sent a signed petition asking for better conditions.

The petition, called “Googlers for Job Security” and promoted by the Alphabet Workers Union, gathered around 1,300 signatures. The union addressed it directly to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. The document begins by highlighting the potential moral impact that layoff periods can have on the entire workforce. It then focuses on asking for better conditions, including offering voluntary severance pay that meets a certain minimum benefit level. Plus, the letter asks Google not to use performance review ratings alone to make layoff decisions.

Google workers petition seeks better conditions and benefits in the face of potential layoffs

“A lot of folks have been feeling really anxious and worried about what was to come,” Olivia Asemota, a Google software engineer and the vice president of the Alphabet Workers Union, told SFGATE. “Especially given the nature of how the layoffs happened in the last two years, where they just came out of the blue,” Asemota added.

According to the petition, offering voluntary buyouts is “so much more humane” than a sudden layoff. It could also give more “autonomy” to workers who were thinking about leaving the company to make the final decision, Asemota said. Regarding severance benefits, the letter requests packages of 16 weeks of salary. This is what Google offered during the mass layoffs in 2023.

A Google spokesperson responded to CNBC on the issue of performance review ratings. The spokesperson said the company does not use simple distributions of ratings with performance levels. Instead, the annual review is based on three key parameters for each employee: role, level, and manager expectations.

Google’s recent layoffs occurred amid an AI-focused restructuring

In recent years, Google has put a huge focus on developing artificial intelligence as a pivotal axis of its business. This has led to changes and restructurings that, inevitably, entailed layoffs. In 2023, the Mountain View giant let go of around 12,000 members of its workforce. A year later, the company laid off another 1,000 workers. The restructuring is being done based on the company’s new “priorities,” executives said.

Recent statements by Anat Ashkenazi, Google’s new chief financial officer, also raised concerns among workers. In late October 2024, she said that “driving further efficiencies” in Google’s Cloud business was one of her “key priorities.” In business jargon, such statements are often associated with layoffs to improve the financial performance of a particular department.

It is not certain that the union’s letter will have any effect on the company’s decisions. While about 1,300 signatures were registered, Google’s workforce was around 182,000 employees by 2023.