Google will lay off 12,000 jobs across the globe, its CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Friday, becoming the latest tech giant after Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon to retrench staff en mass amid the global economic downturn.
In an email to employees, the Indian-origin CEO said, "I have some difficult news to share. We've decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles." But, the thing to note here is that Google reportedly is also indicating to ex-employees who were laid off while on maternity or medical leave that they will not be paid for the remainder of their time off.
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As per a report in CNBC, sacked Google employees are asking the company to honour their approved medical time off. Over 100 former employees have formed a group called "Laid off on Leave".
They are requesting that executives compensate them for the weeks and months they were authorised to take off prior to the January job cuts. The group of ex-employees wrote to executives, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi, three times, most recently on March 9, without receiving a response, said the report.
People who have been approved for or are currently on maternity leave, baby bonding leave, caregiver's leave, medical leave, or personal leave are included in this group.
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"We respectfully request a good faith effort to honour the terms of our original parental and/or disability leave arrangements for all leaves that were approved as of January 20, 2023," a group of laid-off staffers, was quoted as saying.
Moreover, the report mentioned that Pichai and other leaders are urged to provide immediate clarity on the matter because of an upcoming deadline. It is expected that official severance terms will arrive by March 31 for those who were laid off while on medical leave.
The company announced in January the elimination of 12,000 jobs, representing about 6 percent of its workforce, to reckon with slower sales growth after an extended period of expansion in the tech sector.
