An explosive new report from NY Times claims that Google gave Andy Rubin, the founder of Android, a grand farewell despite accusations of sexual misconduct against him.
There were reports of Andy Rubin being in an affair with a co-worker in the Android team at Google which goes against the company’s policy. However, the latest report claims something more serious. It says that Andy Rubin forced the woman with whom he was having an affair into performing sexual acts in a hotel room in 2013.
When Google investigated the allegations, it found them to the true followed by which Larry Page asked Rubin to resign. And despite knowing about his inappropriate behavior, Google gave Andy Rubin a $90 million exit package which included Rubin getting paid $2 million per month for about four years. Worse, Google invested millions of dollars into Rubin’s startup Playground Global. (Xanax)
Rubin is not the only one who was accused of sexual misconduct at Google. There were two other executives as well at Google accused of sexual misconduct who were removed by the company. But just like Rubin, they were paid millions of dollars as their exit package.
Mr. Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In two instances, it ousted senior executives, but softened the blow by paying them millions of dollars as they departed, even though it had no legal obligation to do so. In a third, the executive remained in a highly compensated post at the company. Each time Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men.
On his part, Rubin has denied such allegations, with Google also commenting on the matter.
“The New York Times story contains numerous inaccuracies about my employment at Google and wild exaggerations about my compensation,” Mr. Rubin said in a statement after the publication of this article. “Specifically, I never coerced a woman to have sex in a hotel room. These false allegations are part of a smear campaign by my ex-wife to disparage me during a divorce and custody battle.”
After the report went live, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google’s vice president for people operations, sent an email to employees highlighting the fact that over the last two years, the company had fired 48 people for sexual harassment over the last two years without giving them any exit package.
“We are committed to ensuring that Google is a workplace where you can feel safe to do your best work, and where there are serious consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately,” Mr. Pichai and Ms. Naughton wrote.
The report also highlights other Google executives who have had relationships with their subordinates and continue to work in the company.
[Via NY Times]