Google parent Alphabet is once again under the spotlight over its treatment of workers. Tensions are rising within the company as four employees have been fired. Importantly, these four employees were heavily involved an organizational movement within Google.
Employees conducted a rally at Google’s San Francisco office on Friday. On Monday, Alphabet dished out the firings. All four employees were reportedly heavily involved in the rally.
Google employees are protesting in support of Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland. Both employees were put on leave after organizing a previous protest. It seems anyone who challenges Alphabet is facing losing their jobs.
However, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg, Google says the latest firings were down to “clear and repeated violations”. The memo was circulated to employees in the company on Monday.
“We want to be clear that none of these individuals were fired for simply looking at documents or calendars during the ordinary course of their work,” the company said, adding that the four employees were “searching for, accessing, and distributing business information outside the scope of their jobs.”
Activist Response
Protestors in the company disagree and say the policy Google discusses is vague. They argue Alphabet fired the employees simply out of revenge. Voicing their grievances on Medium, protest organizers say looking at documents outside a job description is normal in the company.
“With these firings, Google is ramping up its illegal retaliation against workers engaging in protected organizing,” the activists said. “This is classic union busting dressed up in tech industry jargon, and we won’t stand for it.”
