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Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
In the wake of a bombshell New York Times story detailing Android creator Andy Rubin's departure from Google following a sexual misconduct investigation, CEO Sundar Pichai sent an email to Alphabet employees.
In the memo, provided to Business Insider from a Google spokesperson, Pichai says that the company has fired 48 people for sexual harassment in the past two years, and claims that none of them received an exit package. He goes on to say that 13 of these people were senior managers or above.
Rubin, who's widely known as the "father of Android," was reportedly paid a $90 million exit package when he left Google in 2014 following allegations of sexual misconduct, including pressuring a Google employee to perform oral sex on him, The New York Times reported on Thursday. The Information reported last year that Google had found that Rubin was involved in an "inappropriate relationship" with a subordinate.
The Times reports that while Google and Rubin appeared publicly to part ways amicably, he still received an exit package even after Google investigators concluded the allegations against him were "credible."
You can read the full memo below sent from Pichai and Eileen Naughton, VP People Operations:
Hi everyone,
Today's story in the New York Times was difficult to read.
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.
In recent years, we've made a number of changes, including taking an increasingly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority: in the last two years, 48 people have been terminated for sexual harassment, including 13 who were senior managers and above. None of these individuals received an exit package.
In 2015, we launched Respect@ and our annual Internal Investigations Report to provide transparency about these types of investigations at Google. Because we know that reporting harassment can be traumatic, we provide confidential channels to share any inappropriate behavior you experience or see. We support and respect those who have spoken out. You can find many ways to do this at go/saysomething. You can make a report anonymously if you wish.
We've also updated our policy to require all VPs and SVPs 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.
Sundar and Eileen
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