This year has felt like the year of layoffs, as Google Canada joins the likes of Microsoft and Amazon by announcing a reduction of its global workforce by 12,000, which includes Canadian employees.
Several former Google employees have taken to LinkedIn to share their stories of being let go by the tech giant.
According to The Globe and Mail, Lauren Skelley, a Google spokesperson, said that layoff notifications were being sent to staff at offices in Canada.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared a blog post on January 20 that warned that staff reductions were coming, which would also impact staff outside of the US, but Canada wasn’t explicitly mentioned.
His blog post began with “A difficult decision,” a common phrase we’ve heard in many layoff announcements from tech organizations.
“We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices,” Pichai wrote in an email to employees.
“This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.”
Google has stated it plans to support employees in line with local practices for anyone impacted outside the US.
Some have expressed how difficult it is to get a job at Google, with one person stating on LinkedIn that it’s more complicated than getting accepted into Harvard.
One Google Canada employee stated on LinkedIn that this was “tough news to wake up to.”
Another current Google employee said this was “one of the darkest days for Google Canada.”
So far, we’ve only encountered posts from Ontario-based Google employees, but we’ve reached out to Google for more information.
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