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Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

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Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#71

Post by cmrdporcupine »

mingus88 wrote: post #8
SQueeeeeL wrote: post #2

Was Google really a beloved employer? I feel like that was vapor marketing hype most real people saw through as bs, you'd pretty much see constant stories of overwork and toxic teams run by incompetent "project managers" just like every other overvalued Silicon Valley FAANG shop

Before the doubleclick merger, Google was absolutely the ideal place to work as an engineer. I feel that perhaps after 2007 a lot of Google's reputation was still held up by what the culture was like in the years surrounding their IPO. But of course, this is ancient tech history. I haven't entertained a Google recruiter in probably a decade now.

I wasn't there in 2007, didn't get there til 2011, but looking at the facts think 2007/2008 era it seems like a juncture from one Google to the next, for sure.

The other, really major, shift -- which happened while I was there -- was Patrick Pichette leaving as CFO and Ruth Porat coming on. And then the subsequent "Alphabetization" which... it was so bungled and mismanaged... and it was clear at that point L&S were clueless about what was actually going on inside the company... that to me was when the company had seriously dramatically shifted in tone and structure. I think that was .. what... 2015?

Sundar taking over was just the formalization of that degradation.

For me, personally I wish I'd only stayed there for 4-5 years, and left around then. But before remote work there weren't any competitive options in my region, so I got stuck there for 10 years.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#72

Post by akozak »

kcmastrpc wrote: post #67
TremendousJudge wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many people would disagree with this assessment. It's akin to saying that the only thing that matters in a job is "compensation", and everything else is useless. While some people hold this view, many others like to be treated nicely in other ways: good working facilities, nice colleagues, fun perks, etc. Same thing about getting laid off: it's never nice to lose your job, but even if the severance is good it…

It's not that the things you mentioned don't matter, it's that employee employer relationships are transactional. While I maintain a friendly relationship with all the people I work with, very few are actually friends. If they are, we'll still talk after the relationship with my employer ends. Unless you have a contract with your employer around the severing of that relationship, neither parties are beholden to each…

Not everyone sees work in that way. Human psychology is complex and often times it's difficult to reduce workplace relationships down to simple economic relationships. You might argue that people should view all work relationships as transactional, but I'm not ready to agree with that (I think it is better to see coworkers as complete human beings), and in any case that just isn't how many people think as a matter of fact.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#73

Post by tpmx »

mwest217 wrote: post #64
deltree7 wrote: post #35

The only thing that matters in a layoff is "severance package" Everything else is useless. If your co-workers liked you and wanted to say goodbye, they will call and throw a party. If I'm fired, there is no reason for me to log on to my workstation. All relevant documents are given to you anyway. Your personal items will be shipped to you.

I have lots of coworkers for whom I don't have personal contact information. It's very common to just use work email or work phones.

Linkedin is a hellscape but it has its usefulness once in a blue moon.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#74

Post by optymizer »

Mizoguchi wrote: post #20

Not sure what the author expected Google to do. Are they supposed to have individual meetings and a farewell party with 10K (ex) employees? My dad worked for the same company for 35 years then retired. In my 20 year career I have worked for at least half a dozen companies. There's no such thing as job security anymore, as long as you are employed by someone else you are disposable, no matter how hard you work and how…

Are you aware that developers have 1:1 meetings with their manager, regularly? It's entirely practical for them to schedule meetings and tell people in person.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#75

Post by newaccount2023 »

vineyardmike wrote: post #12
newaccount2023 wrote: post #6

the employees were fools for falling in love with their employer, not sure how else to say it they should be grateful they were paid so well for so long to do so little...chances are they will never see comp like that for work like that again ...and hopefully no one is naive enough to think Google is "done"...after next earnings I expect an even bigger round the same thing is happening all over tech - go down to a re…

I don’t think people were fools for falling in love with their employer. Naive maybe. But Google was really nice to employees and (intentionally) made it easy to forget you were a number in the capitalist machine. They listened and responded to employees, they made work more comfortable and easy with perks, and they regularly changed to stay up to date on what helped employees. > ...and hopefully no one is naive enou…

> I haven’t seen it talked about anywhere. I’m an ex-googler from layoffs

Why would you hear about a confidential layoff plan??

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#76

Post by l33t233372 »

smith7018 wrote: post #68
kernal wrote: post #56

Apple is Next.

Apple was never viewed as an ideal place to work. They don't have the "amenities" that other FAANG companies have (had?), generally pay less, and their employees are forced into secrecy even amongst their coworkers. People work at Apple because they want to work at Apple, not because Apple provides a cushy work environment.

I thought Google was also known for paying less.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#78

Post by eschneider »

nebula8804 wrote: post #58
eschneider wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are _definitely_ great companies out there, depending on what makes a place great FOR YOU. Working on great products with smart people? Yeah, there are places out there like that, and not always in the 'obvious' places. Great compensation? Yeah, there are places/industries that still offer that. Getting everything combined with one employer? That's more of a unicorn problem and you might have to compromise on s…

Can you name some? It always seems like some sort of open secret until its too late. There was some discussion about Oxide Computers being one of these companies.

I've been working mostly with embedded/IoT/backendCloud stuff lately, with a focus on embedded/IoT stuff and having spend about a month this year interviewing, the quality of companies and projects out there vary VASTLY. I ended up joining a manufacturing company that's adding some specialized robotics...stuff to their product line. Cool stuff and in a product domain I know a lot about. Great people, too. I heard about these guys because my former boss worked with them all before their start up got acquired by the MfgCo a while back. Definitely not the folks you'd peg for doing quality tech work, but they are. Compensation wasn't the best offer I landed, but it's good enough and I feel like I'm working with adults who know what they're doing and that's worth a lot to me.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#79

Post by thwayunion »

ahsteele wrote: post #61
dack wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it was definitely a great place to work in it's heyday 10+ years ago, as I believe most of the FAANG companies were. It was so nice back in the day having companies you knew would be great if you could just get into them. Are there any companies like that these days?

Yes I would say that working in the United States at a Federally Funded Research and Design Center https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/ are great companies if only you can get into them.

Also as long as you don't mind below market rates and job security tied to federal budget allocations. Or your paycheck disappearing for an unknown period of time whenever there's divided government.

Re: Google was beloved as an employer for years. Then it laid off thousands by email

#80

Post by rkhacker »

Feels like a nice dream interrupted for most of the googlers. Probably they felt tenured and even 6 months of severance cannot assuage the hurt feeling. Looking around and doing some reality check might help. Every company is trying to improve the bottom line when the topline is not moving up. The layoff didn't just happen this year, it has been in the corporate world all the time.

If there are true friends in the company then they will find a way to reach out. Others are just lunch/coffee buddies and they might be already enjoying their pastime with someone else. Find a way to put this in the rear-view mirror as soon as possible.

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