'Why me, Why now?': 8-month pregnant US woman sacked by Google days ahead of her maternity leave

Katherine Wong, who is eight months pregnant and preparing to go on maternity leave at Google, described how she dealt with the news that she is one of the company's 12,000 layoffs.

Team Newsable

First Published Jan 22, 2023, 8:11 PM IST | Last Updated Jan 22, 2023, 8:11 PM IST

Last week, Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, laid off nearly 12,000 employees across the board. The company's CEO, Sundar Pichai, emailed employees about the extensive job layoffs. Additionally, the CEO said that he accepts 'complete responsibility' for the situation. Many employees took to social media to share their experiences dealing with the news. A pregnant woman took to LinkedIn and described her experience after being laid off just a week before her maternity leave.

Katherine Wong, who is eight months pregnant and preparing to go on maternity leave at Google, described how she dealt with the news that she is one of the company's 12,000 layoffs.

Wong, based in California, said her heart sank when she saw the mail. "#Googlelayoffs while I am eight months pregnant and just one week away from beginning maternity leave. It felt great to know that I'm one week closer to seeing my baby after completing a comprehensive handover document before leaving as a Program Manager. However, the moment I checked my phone, my heart sank. I am one among the 12,000 people who have been affected."

Initially, Wong thought, "Why me? Why is it now?" she said that she had received a good performance review and that the news was difficult to accept.

She said that she needed to learn to control her negative emotions for the sake of her unborn kid. "It's practically impossible for me to hunt for work while I'm 34 weeks pregnant and about to go on maternity leave for months," she explained.

She further explained, "People are concerned about my baby's health. I didn't allow my bad feelings to take over as I had a little one inside that needed to be cared for, but I couldn't control my shaky hands. It's a very mixed feeling."

Additionally, Wong said that she would now focus on her pregnancy and prepare to welcome her baby. "I want to be able to #opentowork. But the reality is that I need to concentrate on the final stages of my pregnancy and make sure my baby comes into the world safely. I know I'll be alright and will do everything possible to achieve that," she concluded.

However, Google has announced support for terminated employees. In addition, a severance payment of 'beginning at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for every succeeding year at Google, and accelerate at least 16 weeks of GSU vesting' has been provided. They will be paid for the whole notice period, which will be at least 60 days. The impacted employees will get bonuses for 2022 and unused vacation time.

Also Read: Google layoff: Employee of 16 years sacked by deactivating his account at 3 am; Read full story

Also Read: Google parent Alphabet to cut 12,000 employees; Read Sundar Pichai's full statement

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