Google in ‘crisis’

A new report by Bloomberg has revealed that the tech giant Google has fired four employees citing data security violations as the main reason.

Bloomberg reports that Google sent out a company-wide memo today confirming that it had fired four employees for “clear and repeated violations of our data security policies,” saying those workers “were involved in systematic searches for other employees’ materials and work,” continued to do so after warnings, and leaked some of that information outside the company.

All the four who were fired were included in those who protested on November 22^nd against the recent firings in the company.

The company is now being accused of the union-busting, the employees union group claim all four fired Googlers were taking a stand.

The Google Walkout group claims that all four employees fired today participated in the November 22nd rally.

The Tech Workers Coalition has spoken out against the firings as well. The workers are being called “the Thanksgiving Four”:

Tensions have seemingly been high inside Google for many months as tech workers found they have the power to protest such things as reports of sexual harassment, a censored Chinese search engine, and a controversial AI drone program for the Pentagon. Some 20,000 Google employees staged a walkout last November to protest sexual misconduct by Google executives, most recently leading to an investigation by the company’s board.

But one way or another, Google seems to be pushing employee organizers out of the company: Claire Stapleton and Meredith Whittaker, two organizers of that Google Walkout, alleged that they’d been retaliated against by company management, and wound up leaving in June and July respectively. Some employees participated in a sit-in to protest against that alleged retaliation, and walkout organizers demanded that Google investigate its own HR department. In September, Google reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board that required it to clarify that its policies “do not prevent employees from discussing workplace issues.”