Google has been notorious for its cult-like culture but there were no rumors that could suggest something real until now. One Google contractor claims of seeing actual questionable things in an unusual report from The New York Times.
Kevin Lloyd is a contractor hired to work as a video producer for Google Developer Studio (GDS) states at least 12 members of an obscure religious sect work for GDS and have a suspicious level of influence over the work environment. Lloyd claims he was unfairly fired for calling out the group’s behavior and has filed a lawsuit against Google and his contracting agency ASG for wrongful termination, retaliation, emotional distress, and failure to protect him against discrimination.
This religious group is called the Fellowship of Friends. According to the Times, the Fellowship “believes higher consciousness can be achieved by embracing fine arts and culture” and has a compound of 1,200 acres in Oregon House, California. The group has even become the subject of an investigative Spotify podcast that promises to reveal its “dark secrets.”
It is led by Peter Lubbers who is a longtime Fellowship member of the GDS.
The Times’ report states that the Fellowship members hold roles at Google’s company events, “working registration desks, taking photographs, playing music, providing massages and serving wine.” Google also allegedly buys the wine served at these events from a winery run by a member of the Fellowship. In addition, Lloyd’s suit claims Google paid for a “state-of-the-art sound system installed in the Oregon House home of one Fellowship member who worked for the team as a sound designer.”
Another contractor, Erik Johanson, told the Times that Google’s partnership with ASG enabled the GDS team to bring more Fellowship members on board, as contractors are hired “with far less scrutiny and a far less rigorous on-boarding process.” The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) has also called out managers’ potential abuse of Google’s contracting system in a thread on Twitter.
Lloyd’s complaints about the presence of the religious group faced indifference. He claims he was fired without reason shortly after complaining. Google has responded by refuting Lloyd’s claims about discrimination at the company and says he was fired for performance issues.