Thousands of Google workers demand layoff protections amid AI boom in petition to CEO

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/16/google-workers-layoff-protections-ai

186 points · 11 comments · view on lemmy.world

11 Comments

Feyd@programming.dev · 45 pts · 63d (3 replies)

Anything but collecting bargaining eh

danciestlobster@lemmy.zip · 29 pts · 63d (1 reply)

Right???? All those signatures could have been on forms to unionize

XLE@piefed.social · 5 pts · 63d

Not only is it limited in its scope, it's also good PR for AI. (Not quite as good as "accidentally" leaked Slack messages or strongly worded letters, but close.)

Peffse@lemmy.world · 42 pts · 63d

The CEO's response:

Image

Eternal192@anarchist.nexus · 33 pts · 63d

They just gave that bastard the list of who to layoff first.

minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 63d

This is exactly the same energy as Russian soldiers making videos to ask to Putin to save them from the meat grinder he is knowingly throwing them into.

ryan213@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 63d

[bold strategy, Cotton]

Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 63d

What next? Raytheon workers demanding drone strike protections?

GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world · -11 pts · 63d (1 reply)

Layoff protection? A guaranteee that you won’t be let go? So even if you’re terrible at your job you can’t be fired just because you don’t want to be?

There’s dumb, and then there’s this.

thejml@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 63d

Technically "layoffs" are different from "firing".

Layoffs are typically high in number, wider reaching, reductions in force just to cut numbers.

Firings are targeted and generally (though they don't have to be) with cause and have a procedure (performance reviews, improvement plans, warnings, etc.)

Not to say you can't target a layoff to include all your lower performers, more to say that you can still fire someone outside of a layoff.