Google's Sexual Misconduct Drama Swells as Exec Departs, Walkout Planned
*By Carlo Versano*
An executive named in a damning report about sexual harassment at Google has resigned, Axios [reported](https://www.axios.com/executive-accused-of-harassment-at-alphabet-x-unit-is-out-6f583d1e-91e3-4a8b-ae2b-51fd4517ec74.html), as Google employees prepare to stage a walkout to protest the company's leadership ー or lack thereof ー on issues of alleged misconduct at the company.
On Tuesday, Rich DeVaul abruptly left the company, according to reports. The New York Times had [reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/technology/google-sexual-harassment-andy-rubin.html) that DeVaul had propositioned an interviewee and remained with the company even after the incident was communicated to management. DeVaul was a director at Project Loon, now a part of parent company Alphabet ($GOOGL), one of the "moonshot" projects under Alphabet's X division, a research-lab effort to deliver internet access via balloons.
Meanwhile, CEO Sundar Pichai admitted in an email to employees [obtained](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/10/google-ceo-we-need-to-take-a-much-harder-line-on-inappropriate-behavior/) by Ars Technica that Google's apology ー for reportedly paying millions in severance to high-ranking employees who had been credibly accused of misconduct ー "was not enough."
"If even one person experiences Google the way The New York Times article described, we are not the company we aspire to be," Pichai wrote.
Hundreds of Google employees are planning to walk out on Thursday to draw attention to the issues highlighted in the Times piece. Google employees confirmed the plans on Twitter. Meredith Whittaker, the founder of Google Open Research, [wrote](https://twitter.com/mer__edith/status/1057388398317572096): "the Google Walkout is real and deeply inspiring. Hundreds of people are demanding structural change, not just inclusive sounding PR ."
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