Google fires 48 employees for sexual harassment

Google CEO Sundar
Pichai.
Getty

• Google has fired 48 employees over the last two years for
  sexual misconduct, the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai told the New
  York Times.
• Of those 48 employees, 13 held senior positions at the
  company.
• The prominent Internet search engine company had also
  protected three of its senior executives from sexual misconduct
  allegations by offering them payouts.
• Pichai is urging all employees to come forward if they
  experience any sexual misconduct while working at Google. 

(Reuters) – Google Inc Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said on
Thursday the company had fired 48 employees for sexual harassment
over the past two years.

Pichai sent an email to Google employees in response to a New
York Times story that was published earlier in the day.

The report said the search engine giant protected three senior
executives from allegations of sexual misconduct by offering them
payouts.

The email, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said of the 48
that were fired, 13 were senior managers or held more senior
posts.

However, Pichai said none of those employees received an exit
package.

The email, which was also signed by Google’s vice president of
people operations Eileen Naughton, said that company employees
could use internal tools to report cases of inappropriate
behavior anonymously.

It also said that Google has updated its policy to require all
vice presidents and senior vice presidents to disclose any
relationship with a co-worker regardless of reporting line or
presence of conflict.

“We are committed to ensuring that Google is a workplace where
you can feel safe to do your best work, and where there are
serious consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately,” the
email said.

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