Google workers in London stage walkout over job cuts

By Martin Coulter

LONDON (Reuters) – Hundreds of Google employees staged a walkout at the companys London offices on Tuesday, following a dispute over layoffs.

In January, Googles parent company Alphabet announced it was laying off 12,000 employees worldwide, equivalent to 6% of its global workforce.

The move came amid a wave of job cuts across corporate America, particularly in the tech sector, which has so far seen companies shed more than 290,000 workers since the start of the year, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi.

Trade union Unite, which counts hundreds of Googles UK employees among its members, said the company had ignored concerns put forward by employees.

“Our members are clear: Google needs to listen to its own advice of not being evil,” said Unite regional officer Matt Whaley.

“They and Unite will not back down until Google allows workers full union representation, engages properly with the consultation process and treats its staff with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

Googles senior management has been engaged in redundancy talks in many parts of Europe, in line with local employment laws.

Last month, workers at the companys Zurich office in Switzerland staged a similar walkout, with employee representatives claiming Google had rejected their proposals to reduce job cuts.

“As we said on January 20, weve made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles globally. We know this is a very challenging time for our employees,” a Google spokesperson said.

“In the UK, we have been constructively engaging and listening to our employees through numerous meetings, and are working hard to bring them clarity and share updates as soon as we can in adherence with all UK processes and legal requirements.”

Google employs more than 5,000 people in the United Kingdom.

(Reporting by Martin Coulter; Editing by Mark Potter)