Google Canada: Severance Packages
Google Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., the U.S.-based parent company of Google.
The multinational technology company operates a search engine that helps billions of users access a wide array of information and entertainment.
Founded in 2002, Google Canada employs a national workforce of more than 2,500 employees.
Opening its first office in Toronto, Ontario, the company has expanded across the country with physical locations in Kitchener, Ottawa, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
According to Google Canada’s website, it’s office in downtown Kitchener is its biggest research and development (R&D) facility in the country.
The company’s software engineers, product managers, user experience researchers, and designers collaborate to build systems used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Recent layoffs at Google
- May 2024: Google reportedly reduced the size of several teams in its Cloud unit to cap off the month.
- April 2024: Google has reportedly trimmed several teams, including Dart, Flutter, and Python, ahead of its annual I/O developer conference.
- April 2024: Google is reportedly reducing the size of various teams, including real estate and finance.
- January 2024: YouTube, Google’s video-sharing platform, is eliminating 100 positions as it restructures its business.
- January 2024: Google is reducing the size of its ad sales team by “a few hundred roles globally.”
- January 2024: Google is eliminating hundreds of roles across its Assistant, hardware, and engineering teams in an effort to cut costs.
- December 2023: A report claims Google’s AI tools have made many jobs in its ad sales unit redundant, which could result in mass layoffs.
- September 2023: Hundreds of recruiters are being fired by Google as hiring at the tech giant slows.
- January 2023: Google parent Alphabet is eliminating approximately 12,000 jobs, or six per cent of its workforce, as the tech company grapples with a slowdown in growth.
- September 2022: Google has reportedly notified around 50 workers, which is roughly half of those employed at the tech giant’s startup incubator Area 120, that they need to find a new internal role in the next three months if they want to stay with the company.
- February 2021: Google announced that it is closing Stadia Games & Entertainment, which would result in more than 150 employees losing their jobs.
- August 2020: Google’s investment arm GV, formerly Google Ventures, has reportedly laid off seven employees.
- October 2016: Access, the Alphabet internet division containing Google Fiber, announced that it will lay off employees and replace its CEO as it looks for cheaper ways to deliver internet service to new cities.
Severance pay for Google Canada employees
In Canada, non-unionized employees at Google can get up to 24 months of severance pay when they are fired or laid off from their job.
This applies to individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.
Severance is the compensation that non-unionized workers in Canada receive from their employer when they are fired without cause.
Even if an employee is fired for cause, they may still be eligible for full severance pay. This is due to the high standards required to legally justify a for-cause dismissal.
LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Rights to severance for tech sector staff
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
The right to severance is consistent regardless of economic conditions, company downsizing, business closures, or significant public health events (i.e the COVID-19 pandemic).
WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains everything you need to know about severance pay on an episode of the Employment Law Show.
The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have represented tens of thousands of employees over the years in severance package negotiations.
- LEARN MORE: Severance pay by company
We have successfully secured much larger amounts for individuals employed across a variety of positions, from entry level jobs to executives.
How to properly calculate severance pay
There is a general belief that severance is one week’s pay, two weeks’ pay, or a week for every year of service an individual has with a company.
The reality is that severance for non-unionized employees in Canada is calculated using a variety of factors, including age, length of service, position, bonuses, benefits, and your ability to find new work.
To figure out how much compensation you may be entitled to, use our firm’s Pocket Employment Lawyer.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Severance Pay in Ontario
• Alberta severance packages
• Understanding severance in B.C.
• Layoffs in Canada
Don’t sign on the dotted line!
Do not accept any severance offer, termination papers, or exit agreement that you receive.
Once you sign back these documents, you eliminate your ability to negotiate additional severance pay.
Generally speaking, if an employee doesn’t receive the proper amount of severance pay when they lose their job, it’s possible that they have been wrongfully dismissed.
An employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review your situation and explain how much compensation you are legally entitled to.
Talk to an employment lawyer
The knowledgeable employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals across the country.
In addition to severance package negotiations, our lawyers have experience securing solutions for the following employment matters:
Our lawyers in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. stand ready to help you solve your workplace issues.
If you are a non-unionized employee who needs help with an employment issue, contact us or call 1-855-821-5900 to get the advice you need, and the compensation you deserve.
Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of non-unionized employees in Canada. It is not specific to any one company and should not be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer.