The Google of 2026 is a very different Google of 2006. In 2006, everyone who left Google had only praises to sing about the employer they were leaving! It is very telling when the Google of 2026 has had years of highly reputable engineers voluntarily leaving (even before the layoffs) who are so bold as to openly criticize Google in the social environment that we're in. Openly criticizing Google requires great personal fortitude, since being a critic only burns bridges and reduces your career opportunities. That is to say nothing about the criticisms that never get published outside of Google.

All large organizations are political. Some employees choose to ignore the office politics, but that choice might find their management not ensuring they survive the next round of layoffs.

The process to retain and advance your career at Google is incredibly political, and these are the results.