More Than 4,500 Google Workers Seek Stronger Layoff Protections Amid AI Push

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing The Guardian, more than 4,500 Google employees have signed a letter to Chief Executive Sundar Pichai asking the company to provide clearer layoff protections as it continues to ramp up artificial intelligence investment. The petition, launched by the Alphabet Workers Union and delivered to Google’s headquarters in California, calls for guaranteed severance pay, voluntary exit programs before any forced layoffs, and an end to a performance system that workers say uses quotas. Union chairman and Google software engineer Kaur said Google’s market value has reached about USD 4 trillion, or about SGD 5.1 trillion, and argued that continued layoffs despite the company’s success show management is putting profit ahead of employees. The petition also asks Google to offer voluntary departures before layoffs in all product groups and to let laid-off staff either receive severance or exchange it for longer paid leave. Google has not responded to media queries. In recent months, the company has cut jobs in some businesses while increasing AI spending; about two months ago it laid off some staff in its cloud division, and last year it eliminated more than one-third of management roles overseeing small teams. Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi previously said AI is a priority investment area and that Google will keep hiring in related fields while increasing marketing resources. Similar job cuts have also hit other tech companies, including Oracle, Block and Microsoft.