More than 4,500 staff members have backed a call for better protections and fairness in potential job cuts at the tech giant.

ByLIAD VAKNISH

JULY 20, 2026 12:50

For years, employment at Google was viewed as entry to an elite workplace offering strong pay, impressive facilities, and long-term stability. For many workers that sense of security has faded.

In recent days more than 4,500 employees signed a petition urging leadership to add safeguards against job losses. On Thursday roughly one hundred staff gathered outside the Mountain View headquarters with signs calling for job security and delivered the petition to Sundar Pichai along with other senior leaders.

What the petition requests

The signers do not seek a promise of zero future cuts. Instead they want a clear and equitable process so employees know what to expect if their name appears on a list.

Key demands include a guaranteed minimum severance package matching the terms from the January 2023 round, a requirement to offer voluntary exits before any forced departures, and removal of quotas in the GRAD performance system so ratings reflect real results rather than preset score distributions.

They also ask that severance take the form of continued paid employment rather than a single payment, a change that matters greatly in the United States where many rely on employer health coverage or work visas.

Context from earlier reductions

The effort follows the January 2023 cuts that eliminated about 12,000 positions, with further reductions continuing in units such as Google Cloud. At the same time the company is pouring large sums into artificial intelligence, a contrast that heightens employee concerns about priorities at a highly profitable firm.

Parul Koul, president of the Alphabet Workers Union, stated that the reductions reflect a focus on profits ahead of people and described the petition as the largest demonstration yet of worries over job security.

Earlier employee actions addressed issues such as harassment, military work, and ethical questions. The current effort centers on personal futures, reflecting a wider shift in tech where once-stable roles now face repeated cuts amid a cautious market.

Protest organizers noted that most management offices stayed closed and the petition was accepted by a staff member in Pichai's office. Google offered no comment. The employees set a two-week deadline for a response.