Google cancels townhall meeting

Company looks for other forums for employees to discuss anti-diversity memo

MOUNTAIN VIEW » Google CEO Sundar Pichai canceled an employee townhall meeting on Thursday about a controversial anti- diversity memo written by a fired employee because of online harassment concerns, the company said.

Questions from tech firm’s employees about gender issues were being leaked outside of the company, raising concerns about online harassment. Some of these employees were named on social media and websites.

“Googlers are writing in, concerned about their safety and worried they may be ‘outed’ publicly for asking a question in the Town Hall,” Pichai wrote in a

memo to staff. “In recognition of Googlers’ concerns, we need to step back and create a better set of conditions for us to have the discussion.”

He said that in the coming days the company will find forums where Google employees can speak freely and comfortably about the issue.

Software engineer James Damore was fired Monday after he wrote a post crit- icizing Google’s diversity initiatives. The post, which claimed that women were suited for certain jobs because of biological differences with men, sparked a backlash in Silicon Valley.

Pichai was scheduled to answer questions at a townhall at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

The company is also being targeted in a protest march by the alt- right, which is scheduled on August 19. Recode, which reported earlier about the meeting cancellation, said that some of the names of Google employees appeared on alt-right sites.