Google confirms 48 people fired in two years after being sexually harassed

48 former Google employees were fired from the business because of sexual harassment. This figure comes directly from Google through an email sent on behalf of the company confirming the various instances of employee termination. In the email (which you can view in full via The Verge), Google did not reveal the identity of the employees, but confirmed that of the forty-eight, thirteen were "senior executives and more. "In addition to this, the number shown only represents those who were fired in the last two years alone. Google has not provided any additional information on the number, if any, of layoffs prior to this two-year period.

The email, apparently understood to have been sent to Google employees, was written jointly by company CEO Sundar Pichai and People Operations VP Eileen Naughton, and appeared to be a direct response to an article. published today for complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct allegedly filed by senior Google officials over the years. Although email does not confirm or deny the allegations made.

Context: Earlier today, the New York Times published a lengthy article that focused on the misconduct complaints made against Andy Rubin, the so-called & # 39;father of Android & # 39; and how the actions undertaken by the company, including the payment to Rubin of a "exceptionally generous sum"Equivalent to concealing the situation – according to the report. However, the play went much further in detail than Rubin's alleged case by referring to two other occasions when the actions taken and the amounts paid by the company seemed to indicate habitual behavior when it occurred. to handle internal complaints of sexual harassment within Google. Among the three people mentioned in the report, there were especially high-level employees, who ran departments such as Android, X (formerly Google X) and Search, the latter being already known to the public and having been widely commented in 2017 because of the executive in question must be released from Uber once the alleged allegations have been made public.

While the email sent by Google refers directly to the NYT article and indicates how it went.hard to readNeither Pichai nor Naughton specifically mention any of the original allegations. Similarly, neither the author of the email seems to have denied the allegations either. Instead, the content of e-mail seems to largely ignore these aspects, preferring to focus on the last two years and on changes made by the company to create a better work environment in general, as well as the fact that there are now different ways to report similar employee experiences. The e-mail also states that those who were dismissed within the time limits did not receive any "an output package. "This contrasts sharply with a point reiterated in the original article that suggests that severance pay was" an integral part "of how Google handled previous editions. Another contradiction between the two points of view is the suggestion that the previous examples did not result in layoffs in the traditional sense, but that Google would have built situations in which the high-level employees in question could start from on their own.

Impact: The speed with which this email was sent to Google employees is extremely revealing and underscores the importance of the claims made in the original article. Similarly, although Google has not yet made a public statement about this, whether to the media or through its public relations agencies, opt for sending emails to employees will probably be a an attempt to reassure those who are currently working for society: things have changed. At least, this is what the email content suggests, while Pichai and Naughton highlight the differences between Google and the past, focusing on new measures introduced over the years to ensure "Google is a workplace where you can feel safe. "

As this information is now public, it goes without saying that a similar announcement or announcement will be made in the coming days, reiterating many of the same points. As it seems unlikely that Google wants to prevent this from further affecting the image of society. It should be noted that, from a more general point of view, Google has recently been the target of many reports that may be perceived negatively by society and the general public. These include antitrust issues in Europe and a significant data breach via the company's Google+ service, which forced it to announce the closure of the service last month. As a result, these latest allegations and suggestions, Google had actively tried to conceal sexual harassment complaints in the past to protect the public image of the company, have little chance to help in the projection from a positive image.

It remains to be seen whether anyone on behalf of Google will make a statement about the initial report and the claims made. These are very serious and involve people who occupied a central role in Google's activities at the time. This is all the more worrying as Google's alleged actions raise additional concerns by themselves and outside of the suggestions suggested by the company to create an environment in which high-ranking employees were exempt from sanctions for actions. that the same people met today by Google have met. Adding to that, even the confirmed number 48 could be used by some to suggest that although Google is now taking proactive steps to prevent people from remaining in a position of authority as a result of credible complaints of abuse of power, the broader issue of sexual harassment in the country workplace at Google is still prevalent.

Since the publication of the original e-mail on behalf of Google. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced its third quarter financial results, reporting a turnover of $ 33.7 billion for the quarter. A figure that is supposed to have missed Wall Street's expectations.