#employee-layoffs

#employee-layoffs

I can't believe how many people I had to hear it from before I got it from the horse's mouth,

Carol Tsai was just getting back to her Sonder hotel room after a long day of sightseeing in London when she read an email from the accommodation company informing her she needed to leave immediately. I literally freaked out, said Tsai, who had been staying at the hotel for a few days and had paid for the stay in full. The first thing I said [was], 'Where am I going to go now?' Guests at Sonder properties from New York to France say they were asked to leave their hotels abruptly after the company defaulted on payments, causing global chain Marriott to end a licensing deal it had with Sonder.

According to an email The Information viewed, employees were given until August 10 to decide whether they want to take the buyout, which amounts to nine months of salary. Those who choose to stay are reportedly required to spend six days at the office and clock 80+ hour weeks - draconian conditions that have become table stakes among workers at top AI firms.

Earlier this year, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance for U.S.-based Googlers, and several more are now offering the program to support our important work ahead.

The return to office mandate was another effective lever to get people to quit since they limited the offices people could return to a small number of key cities, whereas much of GSA was purposefully hired remote.