Google Workers in London Stage Walkout Over Massive Layoffs

Staged at Google’s London office, the walkout included hundreds of Google employees who claimed that the company has ignored employee concerns

On Tuesday, hundreds of employees at Google’s London offices took it to the streets and staged a walkout over concerns of the company announcing massive layoffs amidst the tech industry slowdown in 2023.

Towards the start of this year, Google announced that it will be laying off over 12,000 employees, which amounts to almost 6% of its total workforce.

Apart from Google, many other tech companies such as Meta, Salesforce and Twitter also announced that it would fire thousands of employees during this period.

Currently, the total layoffs in 2023 stand to be around 290,000, a number that’s troubling for tech employees, who were high in demand just two years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic striked, causing a huge boom in the tech industry.

Trade Union Unite, a British trade union which includes employees from Google, announced that Google has constantly ignored employee concerns and complaints.

“Our members are clear: Google needs to listen to its own advice of not being evil,” said Matt Whaley, the regional officer for Unite.

“They and Unite will not back down until Google allows workers full union representation, engages properly with the consultation process and treats its staff with the respect and dignity they deserve,” Whaley added.

Google employees attending the protest mentioned that discussion between the Google management and its employees are becoming “extremely frustrating”.

“It has been difficult for those involved. We have a redundancy process for a reason, so that employees can make their voice heard,” they said. “But it feels as if our concerns have fallen on deaf ears,” said an employee attending the walkout.

“In the UK, we have been constructively engaging and listening to our employees through numerous meetings, and are working hard to bring them clarity and share updates as soon as we can in adherence with all UK processes and legal requirements,” said Google while talking about the employee walkout.

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