‘It feels like slap in the face’: Sacked Google worker whose mother died of cancer

Tommy York, who is based in San Francisco in the US, wrote in a LinkedIn post that his mother died in December 2022 after battling stage-four cancer.

New Delhi: Among the 12,000 employees that Google has laid off, a software engineer has said he was fired by his employer just days after returning to work from a bereavement leave following the death of his mother.

Tommy York, who is based in San Francisco in the US, wrote in a LinkedIn post that his mother died in December 2022 after battling stage-four cancer.

“I was laid off from Google last week. I found out on my fourth day back from bereavement leave for my mom, who died from cancer in December,” York wrote.

“It’s unclear how the lay-offs were determined, and perhaps the year I had may have nudged me more towards being laid off. I started at Google in December, 2021, and my Mom was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer the following February, around when the formal orientation ended and I was put on projects,” he added.

He further said that his termination felt like a “slap in the face, like being hit when you’re down”.

Moreover, he remembered the time that he spent with his mother, saying: “I’m grateful that I spent the time and energy I did with my mom, and not overworking for a company who might decide on one cold Friday morning that my badge doesn’t work anymore”.

The professional concluded by thanking the company for the “generous” severance package he received and said he would take a two-month break to re-centre.

“I’ll be taking February and March off, but am open to starting to search for new work around the end of March. If you hear of any opportunities you think might be particularly suited to me, get in touch,” he wrote.