Google Employee Said He Was Laid Off While On Leave Caring For a Terminally Ill Parent

But he said he still loves the company, though.

learn more about Gabrielle Bienasz

By Gabrielle Bienasz

VIEW press / Contributor I Getty Images
Google offices in New York City.

One person who was laid off from Google in the company's wave of staff cuts last week says he was on a leave from work taking care of his mother who is terminally ill with cancer.

Paul Baker was on leave for about a month when he received an email letting him know the company was laying him off, along with around 12,000 others, he told Insider.

"While on carer's leave for my immediate family member's terminal cancer, I too was laid off. After the initial shock, it morphed into sadness because I miss the people," he also wrote on LinkedIn.

Related: More Than 1,600 Tech Workers Are Being Laid Off A Day On Average In 2023, According to a New Report

On Jan. 20, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai sent a note to employees taking responsibility for hiring "for a different economic reality than the one we face today."

Baker told Insider that he was on leave and was told by a friend about the layoffs, then found his work laptop had been "cut off," the outlet wrote.

He was a video producer at Google, according to his LinkedIn, and had been at the company since 2018. Baker told Insider he was feeling "shock and sadness." The outlet said it verified the leave period as well as his severance email and prior employment with Google.

Related: In a Viral TikTok, An Ex-YouTube Employee Talks About Getting Laid Off During a Business Trip

"I'll truly miss it," he said.

Baker also told the outlet he has not received information about how his severance package would be affected by the fact that he was on career leave to care for his mom.

Pichai said in the memo the company will provide "six months of healthcare, job placement services and immigration support for those affected."

Still, he told Insider he would love to go back to the company.

"If there's ever a Google position open for another video producer position, I would take it in a heartbeat," he said.

Gabrielle Bienasz

Entrepreneur Staff

Gabrielle Bienasz is a staff writer at Entrepreneur. She previously worked at Insider and Inc. Magazine. 

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

The Dark Side of Pay Transparency — And What to Do If You Find Out You're Being Underpaid
Thinking of a Career Change? Here Are 4 Steps You Can Take to Get There.
A Founder Who Bootstrapped Her Jewelry Business With Just $1,000 Now Sees 7-Figure Revenue Because She Knew Something About Her Customers Nobody Else Did
Everything You Need to Know About Franchise Law
Business News

Report: Amazon, Jeff Bezos Eyeing Purchase of AMC Theaters

AMC operates 600 theaters across North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Growing a Business

Scaling Made Easy: How to Scale Your Business like a Fortune 500 Company

Once you have the night-vision skills of Fortune 500 restaurants, scaling becomes effortless. Here are 3 ways to scale, hidden in plain sight.

Marketing

Streaming TV Is the Future of Advertising — Without Breaking the Bank

Today's consumers expect personal, impactful ads. There's an advertising method that can get you there for half the price, making it the next frontier in digital advertising.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas To Start Right Now

To start one of these home-based businesses, you don't need a lot of funding -- just energy, passion and the drive to succeed.