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Googler... ex-Googler

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Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#801

Post by HdS84 »

mont_tag wrote: post #623

ISTM software engineers have been living in a privileged and elite world. They are then utterly shocked to be treated like employees are treated elsewhere. Pretty much anywhere if you are let go, your email access and physical access are cut off immediately. Start-ups do this all the time as funding gets tight or there is a need to pivot. I get that this sucks (and have been on the both the dishing out side of this a…

Honestly, the problem is not that there are layoffs, the problem is that the process sucks.

you don't need to fire this person immediately - you can talk to him, wind his operations down and then let him go. I.e. in Germany it's often half a year between announcing a layoff and anything happening (besides other stuff like making sure the layoff applies to the newest people first). Even if you don't want such a long period - talking to him and giving him a few weeks to wind down at your firm and starting to search for a new job seems perfectly reasonable. What happens if he wreaks havoc on your firm out of revenge? Really? Happens practically never. If it happens, sue him.

ofc this process applies to reasonable layoff - if it's for something egregious (breaking the law) you can and should fire him immediately.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#802

Post by gh0stcat »

globular-toast wrote: post #692
ra7 wrote: post #648

It’s always sad to see people lose their jobs, but it’s telling how often it’s ex-Googlers posting about layoffs. Feels like a lot of the shock is just realizing they’re just as replaceable and as much of a "cog in the machine" as everyone else. Google spent years selling the idea that it was special, but this feels like a real coming back down to earth moment for the employees.

The OP strikes me as being quite immature. Like a first breakup or something. I think it's less about Google selling themselves as being special and more that people like OP have been led to believe they are special. A lot of them have been treated like royalty: super privileged lives, only experiencing the nice bits of society, top education, then straight into a 6-figure job where you get to be part of a special cl…

Emphasis on "doing something useful with their lives".

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#803

Post by p0w3n3d »

It's always really hard to be let go, especially when you were a successful person in the company. Sadly, companies choose the people to fire by some obscure means, mostly the money earned. I've been recently dismissed from work due to "reorganisation", and it really hit me hard in terms of psychological health. Please take care of yourself, do not lose your strength, don’t let your sense of self-worth be harmed by this (I got really vulnerable after this event), and wishing you good luck in finding the next job!

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#804

Post by LPisGood »

bbqfog wrote: post #724
LPisGood wrote: post #719

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t really consider someone that moved from middle management to upper management/executive leadership to be a part of the “capital class.” Investors, board members, maybe even some CEOs, sure.

If they’re upper management, they are tasked with doing the dirty work for capital. That’s their job.

That doesn’t mean they don’t care though. Now this could come from spending time at a company where the executives were only ~3 levels of indirection from devs.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#805

Post by grudg3 »

scarface_74 wrote: post #691
ryandrake wrote: post #681

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Therefore, let's throw everything non-monetary under the bus because work should be purely transactional?

What else should it be? Do you believe that your company is like “your family”? Your coworkers or especially your manager are “your friends”? Why else do you go to work?

You're taking "Human resources" a bit too literally.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#806

Post by mcv »

mrgoldenbrown wrote: post #731
mcv wrote: post #459

Layoffs are one thing, but to be cut off without any notice, that really sucks. I usually know months in advance that when I'll leave, so I'll have time to finish what I'm working on and train the people who will take over my responsibilities. It seems weirdly destructive for a company not to allow for that. As for email, calendar etc, I think the lesson here is not to depend on anything from your employer. Keep ever…

Are you outside the US by chance? Sudden layoffs like this are the norm here.

I do live outside the US, but in another part of this discussion I was just taught not to assume that reports of unhealthy working conditions coming from the US represent the norm.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#807

Post by pkaye »

NooneAtAll3 wrote: post #81

my take on this is that "2 week notice" should probably apply to businesses as well?

The 2 week notice is not a legal requirement in the US. I've seen a couple employees just do a silent quit and not turn up the next day.

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#808

Post by scarface_74 »

ryandrake wrote: post #767
scarface_74 wrote: post #691

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What else should it be? Do you believe that your company is like “your family”? Your coworkers or especially your manager are “your friends”? Why else do you go to work?

I don't believe my office is my family, but I expect to at least be treated with a baseline level of decency, civility, dignity, respect, and kindness, which are non-monetary and (by my reading of your post) unnecessary in your office full of Vulcans. The fact that these things are seen as optional and unimportant explains a lot of what's happened to public discourse.

Was it indecent for Google to lay someone off, remove all access and give him 16 weeks of severance + two additional weeks for each year of service?

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#809

Post by scarface_74 »

grudg3 wrote: post #805
scarface_74 wrote: post #691

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What else should it be? Do you believe that your company is like “your family”? Your coworkers or especially your manager are “your friends”? Why else do you go to work?

You're taking "Human resources" a bit too literally.

We are resources. The one Big Tech company I have worked for has 1.556 million employees. What else was I besides a “resource”?

Re: Googler... ex-Googler

#810

Post by [deleted] »

javawizard wrote: post #396

That was painful to read. I had a very similar experience at Google about a year ago, and the worst part of it was that they did it 2 weeks before I was set to receive a 6-figure retention bonus for sticking around for 2 years after an acquisition. Several other members of my team got the boot at the same time. All of us had come in via that acquisition and were set to receive that bonus, and because of the layoffs,…

[deleted]
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