Forty-three contract workers who were part of the YouTube Music team have been laid off. These workers had been protesting for higher pay for the past year. Google had hired these workers through its subcontractor, Cognizant.
The news of their layoff came as a surprise to the workers, as shown in a viral video on social media. The workers suspect that they were fired because of their demand for better pay, and that this was the company’s way of retaliating.
Both Google and Cognizant claim that the contracts of their contract workers ended at the natural date of expiry. Cognizant also states that the layoffs are part of its business operations, and that affected staff members will receive seven weeks of pay to seek alternative jobs or apply for suitable roles within the firm.
Interestingly, these contract workers had voted in favor of unionization in 2023 and had been demanding a pay hike, better benefits, and more flexibility in terms of return-to-office policies.
Google had not negotiated with them, as the company did not consider them regular employees. This was deemed an illegal act by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In fact, the NLRB had introduced a rule to make it more difficult for companies to avoid accountability in unionization attempts by third-party or contract staff.
