‘Bad game of Russian roulette’: ‘Blindsided’ ex-Google employee documents her layoff in viral video
By Ana Yoo
A video posted by a former Google employee documenting her unexpected layoff has quickly gone viral.
The video comes shortly after Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. announced a plan to cut 12,000 jobs, roughly 6% of its global workforce, last Friday amidst growing tech company layoffs.
Nicole Tsai’s (@nicolesdailyvlog) video, which was posted on Sunday, has garnered over 4 million views on TikTok.
Tsai’s vlog, titled “A Day in My Life Getting Laid off at Google,” begins with her waking up to an “ominous text” from her boss and discovering she can no longer access her employee accounts.
As the video continues, Tsai explains that neither she nor her boss had any inclination of her firing and that she reached out to several other teams for more information, only to discover that many of her coworkers had also been unexpectedly laid off.
Tsai expresses her belief that the layoffs were random, calling them a “bad game of Russian roulette,” since there seemed to be no correlation between performance and who was let go, and that a quick scroll through her LinkedIn feed showed many fellow Google employees feeling “equally as shocked and blindsided.”
Tsai began posting vlogs about her experience working at Google’s office in Los Angeles only this past December.
Ranging from videos showcasing impressive lunch and snack options, various themed rooms and employee appreciation gifts, Tsai’s TikTok account had already amassed millions of views before she posted her viral video earlier this week.
Just four days ago, Tsai posted a video of her having fun on a giant red slide, eating hand-rolled sushi and scootering around to meetings at the Google Los Angeles office.
Tsai has only posted two TikToks since — including her viral layoff video.
In her most recent video, uploaded yesterday, Tsai highlights comments left on her viral video and projects that the layoffs will continue in other regions outside the U.S., like Mexico and Canada.
Although she does not comment further on her experience at Google, Tsai says that she was “overwhelmed with the love and support” she received on her previous video.
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