Hundreds of Google workers went on strike at the company’s London offices on Tuesday over a disagreement about layoffs. The parent company of Google, Alphabet, said in January that 12,000 people, or 6% of the staff, will be let go globally.
The decision was made when a tsunami of layoffs was sweeping corporate America, especially in the IT industry, where businesses have already fired over 290,000 people this year, according to the tracking website Layoffs.fyi.
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The organization Unite, which represents a number of Google workers in the UK, said that the business had disregarded worker concerns. They will continue to fight with Unite until Google recognizes the right of full employee union representation, participates appropriately in the consultation process, and accords employees the respect and dignity they are due.
HUNDREDS OF GOOGLE EMPLOYEES HAVE STARTED TO PROTEST OUTSIDE ITS LONDON OFFICE DUE TO THE RECENT LAYOFFS ANNOUNCED BY GOOGLE $GOOGL $GOOG pic.twitter.com/8dzCpDoqF1
— GURGAVIN (@gurgavin) April 4, 2023
Redundancy conversations between Google’s top management and employees have taken place in accordance with local labor rules in many European countries. As employee representatives said that Google had rejected their recommendations to mitigate job losses, workers at the company’s Zurich branch in Switzerland staged a walkout like this one last month.
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“Previously we have decided to cut around 12,000 jobs from our worldwide employees, as we announced on January 20. Considering how difficult this period has been for our employees, “a Google representative remarked. We have taken part in several discussions and have paid close attention to our British counterparts. We are putting in a lot of effort to respond to their inquiries and provide updates as soon as we can, in accordance with all UK regulations and regulatory obligations. In the UK, Google has about 5,000 employees.