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A senior Google executive responsible for Europe has expressed his shock and disappointment at reports of alleged sexual misconduct payouts within the company.
Matt Brittin, Google’s president of business and operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revealed that he was not informed about the matters internally – and first found out when reading reports in the media.
“I didn’t know about it. It was at a very senior level and I was as surprised as everybody else and as disappointed and was determined to see change – it was wrong, our CEO has apologised to the company and has also supported people who are making known their concerns,” Mr Brittin said at the Web Summit in Lisbon.
“When I read the stories in the New York Times that led to this, I was as disappointed as anybody else and I think it’s not good enough and we need to change what we’re doing, so I fully supported people who walked out.”
Google staff across the globe walked out on November 1 in protest against claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism within the tech giant.
A report by the New York Times disclosed allegations against several high profile executives, including Andy Rubin, creator of the company’s Android software.
Mr Rubin reportedly received a 90 million dollar (£70 million) payout in 2014 – even though Google concluded the sexual misconduct allegations against him were credible. He denied the claims on Twitter, saying that they are part of a “smear campaign” to disparage him during a divorce and custody battle.
In an email to staff, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai apologised for the company’s “past actions” and said he was “fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society”.
