Google employees walk out of Switzerland office in protest of layoffs

More than 250 Google Zurich employees walked out to protest the company's decision to cut its workforce by 6 percent, resulting in thousands of layoffs.

Workers walked away from their desks before lunchtime and held placards outside one of two Google offices in the Swiss city. The employees were supported by their trade union Syndicom.

Despite the small proportion of Google's Zurich-based employees, walkouts by tech workers are uncommon. The incident follows similar protests in New York and California earlier this month over job cuts, the publication reported.

According to Swiss law, Google should engage in dialogue with an employee committee about alternatives to job cuts, as demanded by protesting workers. They also demanded support for foreign nationals whose residency is tied to their employment and sought a commitment from the company to refrain from further job cuts.