On July 16 (local time), a collective plea was made by Google employees to CEO Sundar Pichai, advocating for the creation of transparent safeguards against layoffs during the current AI investment surge and widespread industry job reductions. Spearheaded by the Alphabet Workers Union, this petition has successfully amassed signatures from over 4,500 staff members. The primary requests encompass offering definitive severance packages, introducing voluntary buyout programs prior to enforced layoffs, enabling employees to transform severance pay into paid leave, and dismantling performance review systems that place excessive emphasis on business metrics. To date, Google has yet to release a public statement in response.
