In an unprecedented turn of events, a group of YouTube Music employees learned they were being laid off while delivering public testimony at an Austin City Council hearing. This has impacted an entire team at Cognizant.
Layoffs Revealed Mid-Testimony
A viral video captured the jarring moment when a co-worker interrupted the proceedings to announce the entire team’s termination.
“Sorry to interrupt, but they’ve just laid off all of us. Our positions are terminated effective immediately,” the co-worker stated from the audience.
The stunned employee was then informed his speaking time had expired as council promised to “follow up” on the matter.
Contract Expiry Prompts Widespread Layoffs
This team was subcontracted through Cognizant.
Entire team at Cognizant was impacted, due to this decision. As per confirmed reports coming in, few employees were put on bench.
Fewer than 50 of the laid-off YouTube Music employees were members of the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), which had urged Austin to pressure Google into negotiations.
The union alleges the layoffs came just hours before a scheduled city council vote on that resolution calling for Google’s engagement.
“This is devastating…Google has taken this path when confronted with its workers’ modest demands to be treated fairly,” said AWU-CWA’s Jack Benedict.
The union stated the workers earned as little as $19/hour with minimal benefits, forcing many to take multiple jobs.
