4,500+ Google staff petition for layoff protections

More than 4,500 Google employees have signed a petition demanding enhanced job security and layoff protections, which union leaders delivered to CEO Sundar Pichai's office at the company's California headquarters on July 16. The action comes amid a wave of workforce reductions across the technology sector, with many companies citing a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence.

Alphabet Workers Union President Parul Koul, a Google software engineer, delivered the petition to a staff member at Pichai's office who committed to passing it along. Koul stated that the group was met with closed doors and received no direct response from executives. Hundreds of employees rallied outside the headquarters in support. The petition calls for guaranteed severance packages, voluntary buyout options before any mandatory layoffs across all product areas, and the choice to take severance as extended paid leave. Union members are also asking the company to end its performance rating system, which they argue is based on quotas rather than merit.

Koul addressed the demonstration, contrasting the company's financial success with its treatment of employees. She noted Google's $4.3 trillion...