As the contract between Cognizant and Google came to an end, YouTube Music employees who were subcontracted through Cognizant faced layoffs. The workers had been asking for better pay and benefits for a year.
Jack Benedict, a YouTube data analyst video was shared on the social media platform X highlighting the issue. The video headline said, “This is the exact moment our coworkers found out we had been laid off while speaking in front of the city council.”
As per the video, The YouTube Music team consisted of less than 50 workers (nearly consisting of 43 contractors). The workers were laid off with no prior notice and the layoffs were a complete surprise for the employees.
this is the exact moment our coworkers found out we had been laid off while speaking in front of city council pic.twitter.com/IcsCszGe3Z
— jacob (@peepaw_) March 1, 2024
The video has been viral and has grabbed millions of views. In the video another employee can be heard saying “Sorry to interrupt, but they’ve just laid off all of us.”
Both Google and Cognizant assert that the contracts of their contracted workers concluded at the designated expiration date, which they consider as a natural end. Additionally, Google stated that it bore no responsibility for the job cuts.
The tech industry has been experiencing disruptions due to layoffs for several years. However, it was in 2023 when the companies witnessed major corporations downsizing their workforce by thousands of employees. The trend of job cuts appears to be persisting in 2024.
So far in 2024, there have been 343 layoffs at tech companies with 67,539 people impacted (1,055 people per day).
Note: We are also on WhatsApp and YouTube, to get the latest news updates, Join our Channels. WhatsApp– Click here, to subscribe to YouTube – Click Here, and for LinkedIn– Click here.
