Dan Russell, senior research scientist at Google, was laid off | Hacker News Reader

Dan Russell, senior research scientist at Google, was laid off

twitter.com

35 pointsGrigoriyMikh15 comments

This also mentions, “The VP of UX, Bobby Nath, found out when his home Google Nest hub stopped working because it was connected to his work email.”

Though given the uniform high quality of Google UX, this one seems justified.

I mean, that is just funny. Having your IoT device in your own home break because of a change in your employment status is objectively bad UX, from a Google device, happening to a Google UX exec.

As if you needed any other reason to avoid cloud connected hvac.

a former Google UX exec!

Quite a shocker. Dan Russell, a computer science legend, was affected by the recent layoffs at Google

Looks like one of the more dedicated workers too, when he comes in at 4 am on a Saturday to get things done.

"I still believe that google's got a great mission".

I guess that's not reciprocated anymore.

If I heard a company lays people off by locking them out instead of actually telling them to their faces first (I’m assuming meaning they don’t even trust you enough not to steal information or sabotage after being fired?) then I’d make a mental note not to apply for a job there, ever.

Was it always like this or is this a new phenomenon? I haven’t heard about anyone being locked out before hearing they are getting laid off, unless there was serious wrongdoing. But I’m not in the US.

> Was it always like this or is this a new phenomenon? I haven’t heard about anyone being locked out before hearing they are getting laid off, unless there was serious wrongdoing. But I’m not in the US.

Always like this. First, layoffs are kept as secret as possible to avoid affecting the stock price as well as to facilitate insider trading by execs while limiting it by lower level managers.

Second, to avoid potential trouble with disgruntled employees, employees are locked out before being notified. In the rare case that someone is laid off mid-day, they immediately lose access to their office and are escorted out by security.

If this sounds abusive, it is because it is abusive. Not all companies operate this way, but many of them do.

I recall Facebook handle terminations this way. Maybe eBay too?

I heard about this for the first time 7 years ago. An ex colleague couldn't enter the office - the badge simply didn't work anymore. Imagine how freaking embarrassing: you try to enter, nope. Then you ask a colleague to open for you and later you find out that, ... well....

Nowadays thanks to remote working it's less embarrassing: your account simply becomes "deactivated" on Slack while you're in the middle of a chat with someone.

We made a lot of progress over the years I have to admit...

Ok and? Wish we would recognize that these individuals will be fine? He's been at Google for 17 years. Surely he's a multi-millionaire by now and can vacate for someone else.

I realize this may seem callous, but time is zero-sum, and I would personally rather spend my time weeping about kids who will need to move and lose their friends because of these layoffs. Or first-time job holders who can't recover as easily from this kind of career event.

Just saying

he must have angered somebody on the board but what bad press for a gooey company

Reply on news.ycombinator.com