Stressed-out Google employees in California are getting rubbed the wrong way after the tech giant axed more than two dozen in-house massage therapists, according to filings in California viewed by The Post on Thursday.
Google parent Alphabet — which disclosed last week it is firing 12,000 employees across its business worldwide — laid off a total of 1,845 employees in its home state, the filings dated Jan. 20 showed. Cuts within the state accounted for about 15% of Google’s overall round of layoffs, according to the filing.
The axed employees included 31 massage therapists who worked at various offices within the state — with 27 based out of Google’s sprawling headquarters in Mountain View. The others worked at offices in San Bruno, Irvine and Los Angeles.
Google touts the perk of on-site massages on a section of its career site titled “Googley Extras.” The page states that employees have access to “fitness centers, massage programs and ergonomic support,” among a host of other supplemental benefits.
The Post has reached out to Google for comment on whether the free massages are still available to the employees who remain.
Google made the disclosures in order to comply with California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN requirements.
The regulation requires companies to provide 60-day written notice to state and local officials and affected employees before conducting a mass layoff.
“Employee separations at the Facilities resulting from this action are expected to commence March 31, 2023,” the filings say. Google previously said it would continue to play the employees through the “full notification period” required under WARN.
The filings provide a view of many of the job titles impacted by Google’s layoffs. The list includes employees listed as “directors,” as well as software engineers, marketing managers and many other positions.
The Post has reached out to Google for additional comment.
In a memo to staffers last week, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the layoffs affected workers “across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.”
He added that the cuts were necessary for Alphabet to take advantage of “The huge opportunity in front of us,” including an increased emphasis on artificial intelligence.
“We’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review,” Pichai said.
CNBC was first to report on the records.
