- Natasha Nesiba was a senior software engineer at Google where she focused on YouTube Kids.
- On January 20, Nesiba lost her job at Google and went into labor with her second child.
- “I’m at my most vulnerable physically, mentally and emotionally,” she told Insider.
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An engineer said she couldn’t stop shaking and crying after being fired from Google hours before the birth of her second child.
“What was supposed to be a beautiful and exciting day at work was really overshadowed by all of this shock and terrible news,” Natasha Nesiba told Insider.
Google announced Jan. 20 that it would lay off about 12,000 employees — or about 6% of its global workforce. In a memo to employees, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company hired too quickly and cannot retain all of its employees amid the current “economic reality”.
Nesiba, who lives in California, has been closely associated with Google since high school. She won a college scholarship from the company, which she donated to help fund another student’s tuition at New Mexico State University. She also completed four internships at Google as a student before joining the company full-time in 2016.
Insider has verified Nesiba’s identity and work history using documents.
“I fell in love with Google,” said Nesiba. “I had no plans to leave any time soon.”
On the day the company’s mass layoffs were announced, Nesiba was set to be initiated with her second child. She said, “I woke up around 6 a.m. and my husband was just like, ‘I’m so sorry’.”
Nesiba’s husband, who also works at Google, woke up earlier and heard the news of the layoffs. His position was not affected, but he checked his wife’s email and saw that she had lost her job.
“He was trying to decide if he should actually hide the email from me because it was such a big day and I was already very stressed,” Nesiba said. “But I ended up waking up too early for him to do anything about it.”
It was a hard day. “Emotions were wild,” said Nesiba. “I couldn’t stop shaking and crying.”
Nesiba told Insider she’s going through “a very difficult postpartum experience.” She said, “I’m the most vulnerable, physically, mentally and emotionally.”
“I can’t fully enjoy every one of those intimate moments with my newborn — and with my toddler who’s just a year and a half,” she added.
Though she’s “very hurt” right now, Nesiba told Insider that she’s still grateful for her time at Google. “It really made me a better engineer and a better person,” she said.
She’s also grateful for her former colleagues, who have been “super supportive.” Nesiba is on a Discord group with other ex-Googlers where they share support, advice and career advice.
Nesiba is not alone. Many Google employees who lost their jobs said they were stunned and surprised by the mass layoffs. A program manager, who was eight months pregnant, said her “heart sank” when she found out she had been fired. A couple with a four-month-old baby both lost their jobs.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Have you been fired from Google or another tech company? Contact this reporter at [email protected].