‘Morale is at an all-time low’: Ex-Googler writes scathing latter slamming layoffs and ‘eroded’ culture::An ex-Googler wrote a 1,500-word letter criticizing the firm and CEO Sundar Pichai’s lack of “visionary leadership.”

  • varsock@programming.dev
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    11 months ago

    The letter is a post on his own blog . Hard to distill into a summary so I recommend reading it get more context. But it seems to have boiled down to:

    • How It Was:

      • Strong adherence to the “don’t be evil” ethos, focusing on societal good over profits.
      • Open, transparent communication and decision-making processes.
      • High morale, with a culture of learning from successes and failures.
      • Work focused on benefitting the web and users, rather than Google’s immediate interests.
      • Collaboration and lack of internal silos, encouraging innovation and autonomy.
    • How It Is Now:

      • Shift from user-centric to Google-centric, and then to individual-centric decision making.
      • Eroded transparency and increase in organizational silos.
      • Decline in morale and a culture of distrust between employees and management.
      • Focus on short-term financial gains leading to layoffs and defensive employee behavior.
      • Lack of clear vision and leadership, resulting in confused and ineffective management.
      • Overall deterioration of Google’s unique, innovative culture and values.