The internal dynamics may appear chaotic to outsiders, but they’re not as intense as some have characterised them to be, he added. With more than 50,000 ful-time employees, Google has been known for being transparent with staffs openly debating on internal forums and are free to speak their minds at weekly all-hands meetings where executives take questions.
On Thursday, thousands of Google employees walked out of their offices worldwide to protest the company’s handling of alleged misconduct by some executives. Starting in Asia and spreading across Europe, photos posted with the hashtag Googlewalkout began flooding Twitter as employees gathered outside Google offices in Zurich, Dublin, Singapore, London and even in India. In the US, walkouts began in New York, including at Google’s Manhattan offices and in Atlanta. The employee group, Google Walkout For Real Change, said 47 offices worldwide were participating in the walkout on Thursday.
According to a report by New York Times, Android creator Andy Rubin received a $90-million payout after leaving because of a sexual harassment accusation by an employee, last month. However, the global tech giant says it doesn’t offer payouts to people it fires for sexual harassment anymore.
The company has also gotten heat from US politicians for ending an AI contract with the US military. Pichai said on Thursday that the company still works with the military on many other projects.