Google employees are upset about being laid off arbitrarily
Google employees are upset about being laid off arbitrarily. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images/Bloomberg
- Google is still continuing to carry out layoffs. In 2023, this online search engine giant laid off around 12 thousand employees. This year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said layoffs might still happen again.
In fact, recently, around 1,000 employees in the Pixel, Fitbit and Tension divisions were laid off. This latest layoff has left some employees frustrated, especially because they think it was done arbitrarily.
"From the C level to the SVP to the VP, they're all boring and uninspiring," said Diane Hirsh, a Google software engineer. Layoffs are not carried out directly but only via email.
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"Go ahead and call me old-fashioned, but I think if there's a situation where you have to let someone go, you should meet them face to face, look them in the eye and acknowledge their humanity," said Kennet Smitg, a former Google manager who was laid off.
Smith said the treatment of the 12,000 employees who were laid off last year was inappropriate, but was still being carried out. Gergerl Orosz, a software engineer, supported Smith's criticism on LinkeDin.
"Google has successfully established their reputation as a place where after serving an annual service, you only get an email that you are fired. This is just business. They can fire you at any time. Forget loyalty and commitment," he said.
Previously, CEO Sundar Pichai warned employees that there would be further layoffs in 2024 as the company continued to shift investment into areas such as artificial intelligence or AI. Pichai said they have ambitious goals and will invest in big priorities this year.
"The reality is that to create this investment capacity, we have to make hard choices," Pichai wrote. For some teams, this means eliminating roles and jobs, including 'removing layers' of work to simplify execution and speed.
Karyawan Google Kesal Kena PHK Semena-mena
Karyawan Google Kesal Kena PHK Semena-mena. Foto: Bloomberg via Getty Images/Bloomberg
- Google masih terus melakukan PHK. Tahun 2023 silam, raksasa mesin cari online ini memberhentikan sekitar 12 ribu pegawai. Tahun ini, CEO Google Sundar Pichai menyebut PHK masih mungkin akan terjadi lagi.
Bahkan baru-baru ini, sekitar 1.000 pegawai di divisi Pixel, Fitbit dan Tension kena PHK. PHK terbaru ini membuat sebagian karyawan mencak-mencak, terutama karena menilai hal itu dilakukan dengan semena-mena.
"Dari level C sampai SVP sampai VP, mereka semua membosankan dan tidak hangat," kata Diane Hirsh, software engineer Google. PHK tidak dilakukan secara langsung tetapi hanya melalui email.
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"Silakan sebut aku kolot, tapi kupikir jika ada situasi di mana kalian harus membiarkan pergi seseorang, kalian harus bertemu mereka langsung, melihat mata mereka dan mengakui kemanusiaan mereka," cetus Kennet Smitg, mantan manajer Google yang sudah di-PHK.
Smith menilai perlakuan pada 12 ribu karyawan yang di-PHK tahun lalu tidak pantas, tetapi masih terus dilakukan. Gergerl Orosz, seorang software engineer, mendukung kritik dari Smith di LinkeDin.
"Google sukses memantapkan reputasi mereka sebagai tempat di mana setelah melayani tahunan, kalian hanya mendapatkan email bahwa kalian dipecat. Ini cuma bisnis. Mereka bisa memecatmu kapan saja. Lupakan loyalitas dan komitmen," cetusnya.
Sebelumnya, CEO Sundar Pichai memperingatkan karyawan bahwa akan terjadi PHK selanjutnya di tahun 2024 ini karena perusahaan terus mengalihkan investasi ke bidang-bidang seperti kecerdasan buatan atau AI. Pichai berkata bahwa mereka memiliki tujuan ambisius dan akan berinvestasi pada prioritas besar di tahun ini.
"Kenyataannya adalah untuk menciptakan kapasitas investasi ini, kita harus membuat pilihan sulit," tulis Pichai. Bagi beberapa tim, hal ini berarti menghilangkan peran dan pekerjaan, termasuk 'menghapus lapisan' kerja untuk menyederhanakan eksekusi dan kecepatan.