- The head of mental health and wellbeing at Google has been fired after 15 years.
- Kristin Maczko wrote on LinkedIn that it was her “dream role” and many people on her team were fired.
- Current and former Google staff say they cannot find the rationale behind the layoffs.
Google’s head of mental health and wellbeing said on LinkedIn that he was fired after working for the company for nearly 15 years.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Kristin Maczko started working at Google in 2008. After she started her career as a data scientist, she turned to finance work, including her leadership role at Google Cloud. Since July 2021, she’s been director of mental health and wellbeing at her Google, which she described as a “dream role.”
The tech giant announced on Jan. 20 that it would lay off about 12,000 employees, or 6.4% of its workforce. Some have spent 20 years at the company.
“The last few days have been filled with so many emotions,” Matsuko wrote on LinkedIn.
In a LinkedIn post, Maczko added that “many people” from Google’s mental health and wellbeing team have been laid off, but did not specify how many. Google and he said on YouTube that one of his contractors, who were working on plans for his mental health and wellness program, was affected by the handful of layoffs in the fall.
Google did not immediately respond to an Insider’s request for comment on the extent to which the company’s mental health and wellbeing team was affected by the layoffs.
Explaining the layoffs, CEO Sundar Pichai said in a memo to remaining employees that the company had overhired. Many current and former Google staffers the insider spoke to said they didn’t understand the rationale, but he conducted a “rigorous review” and found that “Alphabet, product areas, features, levels, and across regions.” said it was laying off staff. behind the decision.
Some U.S. employees learned they were laid off with an impersonal email stating, “Your job at Google is no longer available” because the company is downsizing. The company quickly shut down work laptops and accounts. That meant that affected staff had to reach out to their manager through other means to get clarification, while employees the insider spoke to said the manager was as ignorant as they were. Told.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” a West Coast engineer who has been with Google for more than a decade told Insider. The engineer, who was not affected by the layoff, spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his employment, but his identity is known to insiders. , are firing people who have the skills and knowledge, they’ve kicked these people out the door without having to manage and talk to a manager who has real insight into their stuff. skills and abilities.”
Google fired dozens of directors in various divisions across the state, according to California filings.
“It looks like the really important people weren’t fired, but there are so many good people who were fired that it’s hard to understand the rhyme or why,” the engineer added.
Have you been fired by Google? Or are you still working there? Please contact this reporter at gdean@insider.com.
