Google’s top executive said Thursday he is “committed to doing better” as his workforce staged a global protest over reports that Android co-founder Andy Rubin received a $90 million severance package after his termination following sexual misconduct claims by a coworker.
Rubin denied the claims and labeled them part of a smear campaign orchestrated by his ex-wife. In the aftermath, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told employees that Google fired 48 individuals for sexual harassment in the past two years, including 13 senior managers. Employees participating in the walk-out — which took place in cities including San Francisco, New York City, Dublin and Berlin — demanded a new, more transparent sexual misconduct policy at the company.
Google “didn’t live up to our expectations,” Pichai conceded. “These incidents are from a few years ago and we’ve evolved as a company,” he said at a New York Times event. “We are committed to doing better.”
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is simultaneously grappling with pressure from Congress over, among other things, allegations its marquee search engine is biased against conservative websites. Pichai is expected to appear before a House panel to address the claims — which Google has denied — after the 2018 midterm elections.
Video surfaced earlier this year of Google employees lamenting the victory of President Trump in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Pichai said the thoughts expressed in the footage were “no different” than what occurred at other companies located in northern California, a more liberal part of the state.
