At the bottom of Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s 1,200-word restructuring announcement is a stark reminder to employees.
The CEO’s message, which comes just two days after the protests in power, is loud and clear: the office is not a place for politics.
This echoes a previous memo from Google’s vice president of security sent Wednesday after the company fired 28 employees involved in sit-ins protesting Google’s $1.2 billion contract with Israel in Sunnyvale and New York. This separate memo asked workers to “think again” before violating company policies with sit-ins.
Pichai reiterated that sentiment Thursday at the end of his note in a section titled “Mission First,” addressing recent events and reaffirming that the company’s “policies and expectations are clear.”
“This is a business, not a place to act in a way that disrupts or puts colleagues at risk, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate policy,” Pichai said in the statement. note. “This is too important a time as a company for us to be distracted.”
Pichai also said employees have a duty to ensure the company is an “objective and reliable” information provider that serves “all of our users around the world.”
“When we come to work, our goal is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Pichai said. “That trumps everything else and I expect us to act with a direction that reflects that.”
The big news from Pichai’s announcement is that Google is combining its Android and hardware teams to create a “Platforms and Devices” team to oversee Google’s products that include its Pixel line, Android, Chrome, Photos, and more.
The tech giant is also consolidating its teams that focus on building AI models into Google Research and DeepMind to expand its AI capability. The CEO said the change would simplify development by bringing all AI model-building teams together in one place and leave room for more focused research into computer systems and the science behind AI.
“I’m excited to see what these teams accomplish in their new lineup,” Pichai said.
Are you a Googler? We want to hear from you. Email the reporter using a non-work device and send it to aaltchek@insider.com.
businessinsider
