Laid Off After 13 Years, Former Google Employee Starts Career Coaching Firm; Details Here

Nicholas Whitaker, who had been with Google since 2010, unexpectedly received the news of his layoff during the 2023 layoffs. He shared how his whole experience was nothing but a nightmare

However, it has been over a year since Whitaker was laid off. He has since launched his own venture, where he assists others in navigating their career paths

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Google laid off thousands of employees in 2023, and the firing spree continues in 2024 as well. The layoffs left many employees clueless as their lives turned upside down. For those who have dedicated their heart and soul to an organisation, receiving such news can be incredibly difficult to accept, especially after more than a decade of service. 

A similar situation occurred for Nicholas Whitaker, who had been with Google since 2010 and unexpectedly received the news of his layoff during the 2023 layoffs. He shared how his whole layoff experience was nothing but a nightmare.

“My layoff experience was traumatic. I got an email at 3 am to my email, that I only found because a colleague pinged me on Linkedin in the DMs to ask if I was ‘Ok’ and if I was ‘safe’,” Whitaker told Business Insider India.

He mentioned that when a colleague asked about his safety, he assumed it was related to a “shooting or some natural disaster”, as he never imagined being laid off from Google. Upon checking his work email, he found himself locked out of his laptop and phone. He then turned to his personal email, where he found the “short and impersonal message” informing him that his position at Google was being eliminated.

The former employee explained that after the merciless layoff, it took him several months to return his laptop, badge, and any other Google property. During this time, he also had to navigate unemployment and health insurance and gather all the necessary documentation for "self-offboarding" to receive his owed payments. 

“Along the way there were multiple errors and miscommunications from the team that made it all even more uncomfortable,” he noted. Whitaker also pointed out the complete lack of communication and empathy from his former team at Google.

However, it has been over a year since Whitaker was laid off. He has since launched his own venture, where he assists others in navigating their career paths.

Reflecting on what inspired him to start his venture, he shared that after 13 years in big tech, particularly the last few years marked by toxic teams and leadership, he knew he didn’t want to dive back into that environment. “A year before getting laid off, I had experienced a bad mental health crisis that was the result of workplace bullying, gaslighting and toxic leadership,” he said.

"I wanted to help others avoid and recover from similar situations and create a community where people can find mutual support and coaching on how to best navigate their careers in a conscious way,” Whitaker noted.