If pass turns red, you are fired: How Google employees in New York found out about their layoffs
Being told that you’re being laid off from a company you gave your all to can be an overwhelming experience. This becomes even more challenging when the layoffs are sudden and handled insensitively. While there is no good way of firing people, there are certain ways one can soften the blow. However, according to a LinkedIn user’s post, Google’s New York employees went through a hard time finding out if they were laid off from the company or still had their jobs intact.
What went down at Google New York office?
A LinkedIn user pointed out that the employees at Google’s New York office found out about their layoffs in a manner that’s similar to one of the segments of the Netflix show Squid Game.
According to the post, the employees had to wait in a line to test their access passes. If the pass turned green, they were allowed inside the office, but if the pass turned red in colour, that meant the employee had been laid off.
The post reads, “This isn’t Squid ame. This is real life. Google employees, who arrived at the New York office on Friday morning, stood in a line to test their passes. If it turned green you were allowed in, if it turned red, you had been laid off. Their emails had been shut off, so they didn’t know they’d been laid off. The repercussions for Google’s employer brand will be long lasting.”
Google’s layoffs announcement
In a letter to all employees, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had announced the layoffs and took ‘full responsibility’ of the same. He also said that the company will fully support its employees during this difficult transition. The impacted employees in the US will be getting full salary for their notice period, a severance package starting at 16 weeks’ salary plus two weeks for every additional year at the company, and bonuses and other benefits as per their respective contracts. As for employees outside the US, they will be compensated as per their country’s laws.
“As an almost 25-year-old company, we’re bound to go through difficult economic cycles. These are important moments to sharpen our focus, reengineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities,” he added.
Since the announcement, LinkedIn is full of stories of people impacted by the massive layoffs. While some are thanking their colleagues for the memories, others are actively hunting for jobs.
