Kitchener-Waterloo

Google employees stage 'walk-in' at Kitchener office, media rebuffed

Employees of Google Canada in Kitchener walked off the job Thursday to protest how the company has handled sexual misconduct allegations, but unlike global counterparts they didn't walk out of the building and they didn't talk to media.

Unnamed employee says media walk-in was an internal matter and to leave Google's property

(Melanie Ferrier/CBC)

Employees of Google Canada in Kitchener walked off the job Thursday, but they didn't walk out of the building and they didn't talk to media. 

Instead, they gathered in a common area inside the company's engineering and development headquarters on Breithaupt Street, in the city's downtown. 

When media tried to enter the building, an unnamed employee met them at the door and confirmed that employees were gathering as part of the worldwide Walkout for Real Change.

But he said that Google was handling this walk-in as an internal affair and that no employee would be speaking to the media. 

Reporters were then asked to remove themselves from the company's property.

The walk-in at Google's offices in Kitchener was part of a wider movement to protest the company's handling of executives accused of sexual misconduct, as well as workplace harassment and inequality. 

Employees were seen staging walkouts at 11:10 a.m. in cities like Zurich, London, Dublin and New York.