Google's HR director will leave his post as the sling of employees continues

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The director of human resources of Google will resign by the end of the year, the company confirmed to our colleagues from The Verge Monday, February 10, 2020. Eileen Naughton, officially VP of People Operations, seems to be paying for her management of several major crises within the tech giant, some of which are linked to accusations of sexual harassment by senior executives towards employees. A thunderclap which, at the end of 2018, pushed some 20,000 workers to demonstrate in favor of new company policies.

SCANDALS IN SERIES

Dozens of participants in this demonstration had later claimed that Google maintained a form of pressure on them by accusing them of having contributed to the media coverage of these "internal problems". Two organizers preferred to resign. Five employees, dismissed in December 2019, believe that they have paid for their activism. They have since disputed their dismissal, which they deem abusive, to the National Labor Relations Board, which has decided to open an investigation.

according to The Verge, it’s impossible to know what role Eileen Naughton played in these decisions. The most controversial measures were taken before the current HRD took office. The media cites the case of a relationship between a lawyer for the firm and the director of legal affairs, after which only the woman was punished. Eileen Naughton was also not on the maneuver when astronomical sums ($ 135 million) were paid to two leaders accused of sexual assault in exchange for their departure.

In addition, Google is said to have pushed its head of international relations to exit after he expressed doubts about the plan to set up a censored search engine in China – code name: DragonFly. Enough to enter a market with enormous potential … but at the cost of its values. According to him, the Mountain View firm would also have deliberately wanted to reduce the frequency of its meetings with employees. These have, in fact, gone from a weekly to monthly rhythm. Harmful to the culture of transparency promoted.

Fuzzy responsibility

To silence criticism of the sexual assault cases, Eileen Naughton nonetheless indicated that she had made 48 layoffs for this reason since taking office in 2016 – this time without severance pay. She also insisted that her change of situation is made at her request because she would have liked "move to New York as part of a family reunification".

The current HR director should remain in the group, at a position which remains to be defined. The fact remains that Google is undoubtedly seeking to put an end to a rampant dispute with this strong, but symbolic decision. Management has indicated that the last mission of Eileen Naughton will be to recruit his successor, praising his efforts in crisis management as well as in favor of the establishment of a minimum wage of 15 dollars and a better health system.

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