Google, the world’s largest company, has given an exit package of Rs 313 crore to former Indian origin Amit Singhal. Amit Singhal, a native of Jhansi, was accused of sexual harassment, after which he quit the company in 2016. Before leaving the company, he was working as a Vice President at Google and used to handle the Google research operations. Singhal was accused by a Google employee of groping her during a program outside.
The case was filed in the California Superior Court in January. The company investigated this allegation and found that Singhal was drunk and harassed a female colleague. After this matter, Singhal resigned at that time and explained the reason that he wants to spend more time with his family.
However, Singhal has not commented on the money received from the company so far. Born in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, Singhal has received Bachelor of Engineering degree in computer science from IIT Roorkee. He completed his MS degree from Minnesota Duluth University and has been head of Google’s core research team for 15 years.
Investors of Google were not aware of the amount given by the company as an agreement to quit the post. The amount was revealed on 11 March 2019 after the hearing of a lawsuit filed by shareholders against Google’s parent company Alphabet’s directors. The shareholders have filed a case against the directors that they had turned their backs on giving an exit package to the accused of sexual harassment.
According to the reports published in the media, public information about this package was not available first. A Google spokesman, defending the company stated that the company has made several changes in the way of working in the office, and strict action is taken on the inappropriate conduct of the people even at large positions.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai had earlier said that their company has taken action against 48 employees accused of sexual harassment charges in 2 years. These include 13 senior officers and the accused employee was given an exit package. Andrew Bean, who was accused of sexual harassment in 2013 was given 626 crores under the Exit Plan.
