Some Google employees in Ireland, who have been axed as part of the mass layoffs announced in January, will reportedly receive a huge severance package over $320,000 or nearly ₹2.6 crore. According to a report by British newspaper the Sunday Times (article under paywall), of the 240 impacted employees in the Irish office, 85 were from sales, 80 from tech and 75 from the support services.
Staff who have been part of the company since the start of its operations in 2003, will likely receive the hefty package. The report added that employees may be entitled to six weeks of salary for every year worked at the company. Google Ireland has cut 4.3 per cent workers from its 5,500-strong workforce.
Laid off staff will be put on paid leave for 90 days, as per the report.
The cost-cutting measures, CEO Sundar Pichai said, were essential for the long-term benefit of the 25-year-old company amid a gloomy economy. Pichai’s email announcing the slashing of 12,000 jobs contained details about the severance package as per the local rules.
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In the US, the sacked workers would receive a severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every additional year with the tech giant, wages for the full notification period (minimum 60 days), six months of healthcare, reemployment help, immigration support, bonuses and pending paid vacation.
Last month, reports had emerged of Google making an error in the calculation of stock severance for laid off staff. According to a report by Business Insider, many former employees were left disappointed after realising that they will be eligible for a package that’s tens of thousands of dollars less than initially announced.
“The severance package that we explained in the support site, detailed documentation and publicly was correct, but it was inaccurately reflected in the email we sent,” the company reportedly wrote in the apology letter to employees.
