Communications of the ACM
Big Tech Is Really Bad at Firing People
There's a gap between how tech companies portray themselves and how they act, says a professor of employee relations.
Credit: Getty Images
For one Google worker it was when the light on the card reader outside their office flashed red. For a staffer at Twitter, it was when an unusual gray screen showed their Macbook had been locked. For Zac Bowling, a veteran of Google, it was being logged out of all his devices.
Tech companies have laid off tens of thousands of workers over the past few months in an industry-wide downsizing that executives have blamed on overhiring during the pandemic. Almost without fail, they've handled it horribly, with casual brutality.
The disparity between Big Tech's high spending and the callous way in which they have let go of their staff has tarnished their reputation as good employers. Even for those who have survived the layoffs, the past few months have acted as a sharp reminder that their well-being will never come before executives' fiduciary duties.
From Wired
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