Googler... ex-Googler

Post by supportengineer » Mon, Apr 14, 2025, 2:41 PM UTC

wyclif wrote: post #473

Scandiravian wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having experienced layoffs in both US and EU companies, the difference is massive. In my experience there is very little respect for "the human" being laid off in US companies People literally would just disappear day to day. I've had several instances where I only found out a colleague had been fired because I tried to write them on Slack only to find that their account had been deactivated Personally I felt constan…

If anyone here has only worked in the EU and wants to see what the US layoff process is supposed to be on a good day, just watch the movie Margin Call and the scene where Eric Dale is called into the office by HR to be fired. There's a scene where they put a folder in front of him with a brightly-coloured sailboat on the cover labelled "LOOKING AHEAD." It's exactly as grim as it sounds.

Post by supportengineer » Mon, Apr 14, 2025, 2:42 PM UTC

jordanb wrote: post #490

wyclif wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anyone here has only worked in the EU and wants to see what the US layoff process is supposed to be on a good day, just watch the movie Margin Call and the scene where Eric Dale is called into the office by HR to be fired. There's a scene where they put a folder in front of him with a brightly-coloured sailboat on the cover labelled "LOOKING AHEAD." It's exactly as grim as it sounds.

Another "fun" thing about that movie is you see the HR lady who delivered the news with a bunch of false empathy walking out the building with a box in a later scene.

Post by bpicolo » Mon, Apr 14, 2025, 2:42 PM UTC

vonneumannstan wrote: post #504

jmyeet wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should consult a lawyer about this. You might be SOL but if this happened to several people, you might be able to show the company didn't act in good faith because there's a pattern of people about to receive their bonus being laid off. Layoffs aren't meant to work that way. Generally layoffs involve someone who doesn't know who you are picking names almost at random from a spreadsheet. Management may fight for c…

>2. You are terminated with cause within that period. Are layoffs considered to be with cause?

Post by Sonnigeszeug » Mon, Apr 14, 2025, 2:44 PM UTC

marcinzm wrote: post #308

WhrRTheBaboons wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what about US costs of living?

Many European cities aren't exactly low cost of living, and those that are have even lower salaries. In the end someone who was working at Google in the Bay Area for 15-20 years can retire if they didn't have life style creep (which is different than cost of living). Not the case in Europe.

Post by siavosh » Mon, Apr 14, 2025, 2:45 PM UTC

bigfatkitten wrote: post #420

Scandiravian wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having experienced layoffs in both US and EU companies, the difference is massive. In my experience there is very little respect for "the human" being laid off in US companies People literally would just disappear day to day. I've had several instances where I only found out a colleague had been fired because I tried to write them on Slack only to find that their account had been deactivated Personally I felt constan…

Layoffs in US companies are a BCP event. It's like an earthquake or a tsunami. Weeks of chaos while you figure out who survived, and who's now doing the work previously done by a team that no longer exists. I watched a layoff take out half the security team during an incident. That was fun.