Google employees are taking to social media to share their stories amid the mass layoffs that will see 12,000 jobs eliminated.
Workers, including one with over a decade of association with Google, shared how their work accounts were abruptly deactivated post midnight.
One employee, a woman who is eight months pregnant, received the news of layoffs just a week before she was set to begin her maternity leave.
The California-based professional, a program manager with Google, was left stunned because she had received good performance reviews.
"My heart sank," she wrote in a LinkedIn post. "The first thought that came to my mind was 'why me? why now?'. It was hard to process and digest."
She said had to curb her negative emotions, for the sake of her unborn baby. "But I could not control my shaky hands. It is such a mixed feeling," the woman said.
Sacked at 3 am, account deactivated, says Google employee of over 16 years
The professional spoke about how she received a flurry of text messages and phone calls from colleagues after news of the layoffs broke.
"I love Google and particularly my team, Google Domains as I feel that we are a family," she wrote. "I am grateful that my team still got my back even now. I have been feeling proud of working in a startup-like team who is one of the few that's making positive business growth under such challenging times."
The professional wrote that she would now focus on the last leg of her pregnancy and prepare to welcome her baby.
Many LinkedIn users reached out to her with job openings and encouraging messages.
"I am sure your career will reach new heights," one user wrote. "Nothing’s going to stop you now."
"So sorry to hear. Wishing you the best in your job search and in your upcoming role as mom!" another wrote.
Job cuts at Google follow mass layoffs at many other big companies -- Twitter, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft.
While announcing the layoffs, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company went on a hiring spree to match and fuel periods of dramatic growth.
"We hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today," he added.
Google will offer terminated employees severance packages starting at 16 weeks’ salary. Payouts will also include unused vacation time, health cover for six months and job placement services.
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