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Thousands of Google workers have signed a petition calling for improved protections against layoffs and a rethink of performance reviews.
It comes as the tech industry experiences waves of job cuts amid heightened AI investment.
The petition, orchestrated by the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), has received more than 4,500 signatures.
Google workers demand layoff protections
Googlers have called on their bosses to make several changes to bolster their job security.
The workers are seeking guaranteed severance for any individual laid off, alongside voluntary exit packages being offered before involuntary downsizing takes place.
The petition further calls for the option to receive severance as extended paid leave, rather than being given the payment as a lump sum, something particularly important for staff on a visa who would need to find new employment in a quick turnaround.
Google leadership has also been encouraged to review how performance reviews are conducted, scrapping an unpopular forced-distribution method that means only a certain portion of workers can be ranked as top performers.
The approach means that some employees may be seen as having outstanding performance by their manager, but to comply with the model are forced into a lower ranking, potentially increasing their vulnerability to job cuts.
In 2023, major layoffs at Google led to 12,000 roles being axed, which some workers – and AWU – say damaged the firm, removing core institutional knowledge from the workforce and leaving many employees unsettled about their future.
Since then, while Google has only made smaller rounds of layoffs, many big tech companies have made sweeping job cuts, while pouring billions of dollars into AI investment, prompting widespread anxiety in workers about the security of their roles.
‘Closed doors & no response’ from Google bosses
Parul Koul, Software Engineer at Google and AWU President, delivered the petition to the office of Google chief exec Sundar Pichai.
She subsequently addressed workers outside Google’s offices in Mountain View, California.
“Make no mistake: this is a company that is enjoying massive, unprecedented success,” Koul said, referencing Google’s $4trillion valuation.
“These layoffs and cuts are not difficult decisions, but simply profit being put over the people that make this company run.”
The engineer noted that the petition itself had to be left with a staff member working in the CEO’s office, with AWU “greeted with closed doors and no response for the most part.”
“This petition is the largest piece of employee feedback that Google has received about job security,” she said.
Per Business Insider, staff held signs which read: “Googlers for Job Security.”
The crowd also offered up chants including “Google, Google, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side” and “Google, Google, can’t you see, we deserve security.”
Don’t use AI as a headcount lever, experts warn
Workers' concerns over job security are particularly heightened amid a backdrop of sweeping layoffs across the tech sector.
While some organizations and commentators have tied the cuts to increased AI spending, there remain questions over how extensively employers are replacing staff with AI.
Workforce experts have warned employers against extensive AI-driven job cuts.
“The debate over whether AI will replace jobs is still too binary,” Rebecca Hinds, Head of the Work AI Institute at Glean, tells HR Grapevine. “The most immediate change is happening inside jobs, as AI takes over individual tasks and changes how people learn, contribute, and demonstrate their value.”
“Leaders should stop asking how many roles AI can remove and start asking how work should be redesigned - what AI should do, what humans must continue to own, and how the productivity gains will be reinvested in people,” Hinds suggests. “Companies that use AI only as a headcount lever may cut costs in the short term, but they will also hollow out the skills and institutional knowledge they need to compete.”
