New York: A former manager at Google, Henry Kirk, is setting up a new company with six other former Google employees who got laid off recently. Kirk, who managed a team that looked after Google services for iOS and Android platforms, has given himself six weeks to do it. The former Google manager lost his job in January 2023 as a part of Google’s larger restructuring plans. The software giant is cutting 12,000 jobs globally to save cost and streamline processes within the company, which is boosting efforts to improve its AI-powered Bard.
As reported by Insider, Kirk reached out to colleagues last month following his layoff. After learning that most of them are also impacted by Google’s decision, he created a “group chat for moral support.”
The report highlights that Kirk enjoyed working at Google and, most importantly, with his colleagues. The small group has decided to create a startup in New York and San Francisco. Their company, which is yet to finalise a name, aims to help other “startups grow and get funding.” Kirk and his former colleagues are also planning to offer “design and research tools for other companies’ apps and websites.”
Kirk further told the publication, “I was pretty bummed out for about five minutes, but then I said, ‘well I still have a family to take care of, I learned a lot, and I think I’m ready to do my own thing… First off, the goal is to get some projects in so we can start paying our bills.”
The group of former Google employees have given themselves a deadline, which is the end of March, to launch the company, as everyone’s financial situation is different. He says, “Not everyone that I worked with is in the same financial situation. Some people have a family to take care of, some don’t, some have strong finances and they saved for years, others don’t.”
The report citing Kirk adds that the way Google cut off his email after eight years of service “stinks.” However, he is taking positive lessons at Google to start the business. Kirk says he would take the position of general managing partner.
While Kirk is still setting up his new startup with former colleagues, Google layoffs continue globally. Several employees in India and Singapore were laid off as part of the company’s restructuring plans. Many impacted workers also took to LinkedIn to announce their abrupt exit.
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