'Why Me?' Google India Employee Claims He Was Laid Off After Being Awarded 'Star Performer' Of The Month

Google's Star Performer: Harsh Vijayvargiya, who belongs to Hyderabad, shared his ordeal in a social post of how the job loss at Google affected him.

Google India reportedly sacked 453 employees from various departments earlier this month

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Large scale layoffs in the tech sector have continued through 2023, with news of hundreds of people losing their jobs making it to headlines every week. Amidst the gloom, several employees have taken to social media to express their grief and share stories about their plight.

Google has reportedly sacked around 450 employees across various departments in India. One such employee from Google India, who was recently laid off, penned down an emotional note in his first post on Linkedin.

Harsh Vijayvargiya, who belongs to Hyderabad, and worked as Digital media senior associate at Google, shared his ordeal on the site. He said his heart skipped a bit on receiving a pop-up email notification from Google Operations Center.

Vijayvargiya claimed that the news of his sacking came after him being named as the "star performer" of the month. In his post, he shared that the whole incident has left him asking "Why me?"

Claiming himself to be a proud "Googler", he said, "Why me though I was star performer for month still why me ? And I see there was no answer at all!"

Vijayvargiya said he was left peechless after he found out that he was one of the 12,000 workers that the company had eliminated.

"My salary is half for 2 months. My financial plannings are completely ruined. I have a kid and supporting wife who are always there for me, though I was not available for them because of working hours," he said.

He also shared his mail, urging people on LinkedIn to suggest a better opportunity available for him.

Lastly, Vijayvargiya also shared a positivity message with all those going through a similar phase, saying, "May all the people fighting battle of layoff find a way to fight the inner battle and also survival battle."

Earlier this month, Google India reportedly sacked 453 employees from various departments. Businessline reported that a mail was sent out by Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president, of Google India, to the affected employees.

Last month, Alphabet Inc, the parent firm of Google, announced the layoff of 12,000 employees or 6 per cent of its total headcount globally.

Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer (CEO) of Google, had also mailed the employees, stating that he took "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here". "We've already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices," he had said.

Pichai also said the company had undertaken a “rigorous review across product areas and functions” to ensure that people and roles are aligned with the company’s highest priorities.