Unhappy with the way Google recently laid of about 12,000 members of its workforce, Googlers have written an open letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google, listing certain demands.
The five demands include a hiring freeze during layoffs. The employees wish for Google to first request for voluntary redundancies and go for voluntary reduction of work time before resorting to mandatory layoffs.
In addition to a fair severance package, the staff want the tech major to consider internal transfers and assure that recently-laid off employees will be given priority while rehiring; that they will not have to go through interviews again to be rehired.
The employees want Google to protect their co-workers from countries undergoing conflicts or humanitarian crises. They request Google to avoid laying off people amidst visa issues that would force them to return to their unstable home countries risking their lives, or at risk of losing residency permissions.
The letter requests Google to respect maternity, baby bonding, bereavement, caregiving and other scheduled leaves and refrain from giving notice to employees before their leave is over. They hope that employees who have been issued a notice will be told in person and be allowed to properly meet their co-workers and bid farewell before leaving.
Additionally, the employees hope that Google will not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, gender identity/ expression / orientation, race, ethnicity, caste, religion or disability.
It is quite disturbing to see that a firm that was once hailed for its envious workplace and work culture is now being requested to behave in an ethical and humane manner.
