The stream of layoffs at tech giants in recent months, Amazon, Google’s umbrella company Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Disney and many other giant companies had seen his participation. Total number of layoffs, according to data from Layoffs.fyi, which is specifically set up to track these layoffs more than 160 thousand in the past 1 year.

Because employees feel threatened by layoffs, Google employees today sent a letter to the CEO of their own company. Workers told CEO Sundar Pichai to stop hiring,”Don’t be the devilmessage was given. More than 1,400 Google employees signed the letter.

Letter from employees to CEO of Google:

“The implications of Alphabet’s decision to reduce headcount are global, Sundar said. Employee voices have not been adequately taken into account anywhere and we know that as employees we are stronger together than alone. That’s why we’re coming together around the world to make our voice heard.

We specifically ask that you make the following public commitments:

1. Freeze all new hires during the layoff process. Ask for voluntary redundancies and a reduction in volunteer time before redundancies. Allow employee swaps to further prevent redundancies.
2. Prioritize rehiring all recently laid off Alphabet employees. Prioritize internal transfer options, prioritize access to jobs without renegotiation, and accept fair severance pay.
3. Protect our colleagues from countries with active conflicts or humanitarian crises (Ukraine, Russia, etc.). Do not terminate employment in situations that may require employees to return to unsafe or unstable countries, negatively affecting visas. Provide extra support against these and to employees who are at risk of losing their residence permit: Assisting with the internal and external job search and ensuring adequate garden permits*.
4. Respect planned leave (pregnancy, babysitting, babysitting and bereavement) and only report this when the leave is over. Reported employees should be personally informed and given the opportunity to say goodbye to their colleagues.
5. Ensure there are no discriminatory influences based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic identity, social class, veteran status, religion or disability.

We are calling on you and Alphabet more broadly to meet these critical commitments. Our company has long been committed to doing the right thing by its users and employees, and these commitments will demonstrate Alphabet’s adherence to the last rule of its Code of Conduct: don’t be the devil.

We know it’s within your means and capabilities to succeed.”

*A practice where an employee who leaves the job does not work during the notice period and continues to receive wages during this period.

The last line in Google’s code of ethics that contains the phrase “Don’t be the devil”:

“And remember…don’t be the devil, if you see something you think isn’t true, say so.”