The New York Times has revealed new details on the circumstances that surrounded Andy Rubin’s departure from Google in 2014. According to the report, Google “investigated sexual misconduct claims against Rubin, which revolved around an incident in which he allegedly coerced another Google employee into ‘performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013,'” The Verge reports. “Despite reportedly finding the claims credible — to the point that Page decided Rubin needed to go — Google gave him a $90 million exit package. The last $2 million of that agreement will be paid out next month.” From the report: Before that payout, and during the initial stages of its investigation in 2014, Google awarded Rubin “a stock grant worth $150 million.” The move gave Rubin, at that time a highly-valued executive at the company, major financial incentive for sticking around after he’d moved on from Android to focus his efforts on a robotics unit. The Times says it’s unclear whether Page or Google’s leadership committee knew about the misconduct allegations when they approved that huge grant. But they certainly did when reaching the $90 million figure as Rubin headed out the door, and Page offered public praise for Rubin in announcing his departure. After he left, Google proceeded to invest in his VC, Playground Ventures. And the company even allowed him to delay paying back a $14 million loan it’d given him “to buy a beach estate in Japan.” In a statement to the New York Times, Google said: “[W]e investigate and take action, including termination. In recent years, we’ve taken a particularly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority. We’re working hard to keep improving how we handle this type of behavior.” UPDATE: Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent an email to employees Thursday in response to the report, saying 48 employees have been fired for sexual misconduct over the last two years.
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Source:: Slashdot