Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Thursday sent an email to all employees of the company, stating that 48 people have been fired over the last two years for sexual misconduct. The email comes in response to a story in The New York Times, which reported that Google protected some of its executives, including Android creator Andy Rubin, from allegations of sexual harassment and even offered them huge payouts to exit the company.
The story was published on Thursday. The email, obtained by CNBC, said that of the 48 employees, 13 were “senior managers and above”. Sundar Pichai also clarified that these employees did not receive any exit package when they were terminated.
“We are dead serious about making sure we provide a safe and inclusive workplace. We want to assure you that we review every single complaint about sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct, we investigate and we take action,” read the email.
Signed by Sundar Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google’s vice president of people operations, the email states that the company has several mechanisms, including Respect@ and annual Internal Investigations Report, to provide transparency in the type of investigations at Google.
He also mentions that Google employees can report sexual misconduct or harassment, even anonymously. “Because we know that reporting harassment can be traumatic, we provide confidential channels to share any inappropriate behaviour you experience or see. We support and respect those who have spoken out,” he said.
The Google CEO also added that as per their new policy, all vice-presidents and senior vice-presidents are required 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 concluded.