Google chief executive Sundar Pichai will assume the CEO role at parent firm Alphabet in a shakeup at the top of the Silicon Valley titan, the company said Tuesday.

Pichai will take over from Larry Page, a co-founder of the internet firm, at the parent company which includes Google as well as units focusing on "other bets" in areas including self-driving cars and life sciences.

Page and Google co-founder Sergey Brin "will continue their involvement as co-founders, shareholders and members of Alphabet's board of directors," the company said.

Alphabet was formed in 2015, giving a separate identity to the original company Google and other units such as autonomous car unit Waymo and smart cities group Sidewalk Labs.

The 47-year-old Pichai, born in India, takes the helm at a time when Page and Brin have been noticeably absent and the company faces a torrent of controversies relating to its dominant position in the tech world.

Born to humble beginnings in the southern city of Chennai, he studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur before heading to America to further his studies and career.

After leaving India, he attended Stanford University and later studied at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fired Google engineers seek US federal probe
San Francisco (AFP) Dec 3, 2019 - Four employees fired by Google ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday said Tuesday they were seeking a federal investigation into their dismissal, which they claimed was in retaliation for their labor organization efforts.

The dismissal of the group dubbed the "Thanksgiving Four" on social media highlighted deepening tensions at Google, which had stated the employees violated data security policies.

A Medium post signed by the four said Google "fired us for engaging in protected labor organizing" at the Silicon Valley giant.

"We spoke up when we saw Google making unethical business decisions that create a workplace that is harmful to us and our colleagues," said the posting signed by engineers Laurence Berland, Paul Duke, Rebecca Rivers and Sophie Waldman.

"We participated in legally protected labor organizing, fighting to improve workplace conditions for all Google workers."

The four said they would file a complaint alleging unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board.

"We look forward to hearing the NLRB's findings, which we expect will confirm that Google acted unlawfully," they said.

The dismissed engineers said they were acting on the basis of Google's own internal rules.

"The company's code of conduct states unequivocally: 'don't be evil, and if you see something that you think isn't right -- speak up!' And we did," they wrote.

The posting said the employees were seeking better conditions for temporary and contractual workers, challenging the protection of executives accused of sexual harassment, and organizing around topics such as gender discrimination and Google's projects involving the US and Chinese governments.

Google, the biggest operating unit of parent company Alphabet, said in a memo to employees that the dismissals were based on unauthorized access to data from other employees and sharing that information externally.

The tech giant denied the employee allegations.

"We dismissed four individuals who were engaged in intentional and often repeated violations of our longstanding data security policies, including systematically accessing and disseminating other employees' materials and work," a Google statement said.

"No one has been dismissed for raising concerns or debating the company's activities."

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T-Mobile launches 5G service across US
Washington (AFP) Dec 2, 2019
T-Mobile said Monday it became the first to launch 5G wireless service across the United States, although it will be slower than some expect for the new generation of connectivity. The number three US carrier said its 5G network covers 200 million people and "goes through walls," outperforming the limited 5G deployment of larger rivals Verizon and AT&T earlier this year. "Today's launch immediately catapults T-Mobile into the leadership position as the country's biggest 5G network," the company ... read more