"Like A Slap In The Face": Google Engineer Laid Off Just After Leave For Mom's Death

A software engineer today said that being among staff laid off by tech giant Google was "like being hit when you're down", as he got the sack just four days after he'd returned from leave after his mother's death.  

"I was laid off from Google last week," Tommy York wrote on the career networking platform LinkedIn today, "I found out on my fourth day back from bereavement leave for my Mom, who died from cancer in December."

He said that "in another world" he would have written about how he used the leave to "undo months of anxiety, stress, and grief". 

"Instead, I'm tired and disappointed. I've certainly heard worse stories, including layoffs of expecting parents and of Googlers on disability leave. But it still feels like a slap in the face, like being hit when you're down," his post read.

Google last week announced it's making 12,000 roles redundant, becoming the latest tech major to cut jobs after years of growth. Some of the staff realised they lost their jobs when they were unable to access the systems. Chief executive Sunder Pichai has stressed the cuts were made after careful consideration.

Mr York, whose LinkedIn profile says he joined Google in 2021, claimed that it was unclear how the layoffs were determined.

He sought to look for a reason in his own circumstances as his mother was diagnosed with cancer soon after he joined: "Perhaps the year I had may have nudged me more towards being laid off. I started at Google in December, 2021, and my Mom was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer the following February, around when the formal orientation ended and I was put on projects."

He did, however, convey he had no regrets: "There will always be more opportunities to work at exciting companies, but a parent dies only once. I'm grateful that I spent the time and energy I did with my Mom, and not overworking for a company who might decide on one cold Friday morning that my badge doesn't work anymore."

He also thanked Google for the "generous severance package", among other things.

"Life goes on, and someday this will be a self-deprecating story told to amuse and entertain, another obstacle overcome," he wrote.