34-week-pregnant struggles processing job loss at Google
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California: After the tech giant Google's parent firm Alphabet announced downsizing on Friday, a 34-weak pregnant lady got included among those who are going to lose their jobs. She took to LinkedIn an emotional post expressing her sadness about leaving the job when she was about to go on maternity leave, NDTV reported.
The lady, Katherine Wong, said that it is hard to lose the job even after she and her department has a "positive performance review". A programme manager, she pointed out that the downsizing was more structural than performance-based.
She wrote that it was hard to process and digest the news after the performance review she had.
"As a PgM, my first instinct was to make a plan, but clearly, this is one of the most difficult projects I have ever handled as the timing is really bad," NDTV quoted from her post.
She said that it's extremely hard for her to look for a job as she is 34 weeks pregnant and is about to go on maternity leave for months.
When many companies, including Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc., turned to massive layoffs and downsizing, Google stood strong. But on Friday, CEO Sundar Pichai issued the announcement and cited that the cuts are intended to sharpen the company's focus on artificial intelligence.
Katherine further wrote that people are concerned about her baby and well-being. Though she has not allowed her negative emotions to take over since she has a being inside her and it needed to be taken care of, she could not control her shaky hands, she said.
She said that she has a mixed feelings that she loves Google and her team there. She has been proud of doing positive business even during these trying times.
She ends her post with a positive note that she will strive to focus on the final bit of her pregnancy and make sure her baby is safe when it comes to this world.
Google had cushioned the blow to the laid-off employees with six months of healthcare, job placement services, and immigration support.
