- Google’s head of mental health and wellbeing has been laid off after 15 years at the company.
- Kristin Maschko wrote on LinkedIn that this was her “dream role” and that several people on her team were let go.
- Current and former Google employees say they can’t find the rationale behind the layoffs.
Google’s head of mental health and wellbeing said on LinkedIn that she was laid off after nearly 15 years working for the company.
Kristin Maczko started working at Google in 2008, according to her LinkedIn profile. After starting as a data scientist, she transitioned into working in finance, including leadership roles at Google Cloud. Since July 2021, she has held the position of Director of Mental Health and Wellbeing at Google, which she describes as her “dream role”.
The tech giant announced on January 20 that it was lay off about 12,000 workers, or 6.4% of its workforce. some spent two decades In the company.
“I’ve had a lot of feelings these past few days,” Maczko said wrote on LinkedIn. “I am sad to leave the many friends and colleagues I worked with at Google.”
Maczko added on her LinkedIn Post that “several people” on Google’s mental health and wellbeing team have been laid off, though she didn’t specify how many. Contractor who worked on mental health and wellness program planning at Google and YouTube He said It was hit by a smaller round of layoffs in the fall.
Google did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on how the mental health and wellbeing team would be affected by the layoffs.
Explaining layoffs, CEO Sundar Pichai He said In a note to the remaining employees that the company had overhired her. He said he had conducted a “rigorous review” and was laying off employees “across Alphabet, product areas, functions, tiers, and regions,” though several current and former Googlers who spoke to Insider said they couldn’t understand the rationale behind the decisions. .
Some US employees discovered they were being laid off through impersonal emails that said the company was cutting its workforce and “we no longer have a job for you at Google.” The company quickly cut off work laptops and accounts, which meant affected employees had to reach out to their managers via other means to make it clear, though the workers Insider spoke to said their managers were just as clueless as they were.
“It makes no sense,” a West Coast engineer who has been with Google for more than a decade told Insider. The engineer, who was not affected by the layoffs, spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his job but his identity is known to Insider. “We’re cutting people out who have years of experience, who are excellent workers, who have the skills and the knowledge, and they just kick them out the door without talking to the managers who are running these people and have real insight into their skills and abilities.”
Filings made by Google in California show that The company has laid off dozens of directors across the various divisions in the state.
The engineer added, “It looks like the really critical people haven’t been laid off, but there are so many good people that have been laid off that it’s hard to see the rhyme or the reason.”
Have you been laid off by Google? Or do you still work there? Contact this reporter at gdean@insider.com.