Sometimes Google ends a project, product or service and ceases to fund it. Engineers are often given plenty of time to find new roles working on other things. Sometimes employees stubbornly don’t get the hint, and then Google needs to tell them “hey you really do need to find another team”. The act of notifying the employee that they need to find a new job or else be laid off is the formal way Google does this.
Considering how many teams are hiring at Google, multiple hundreds of jobs in Seattle alone — I would be surprised if this person couldn’t find a job if they tried not particularly hard.
Disclosure: I worked for Google for 7 years, was an Eng Director, and (indirectly) managed hundreds of employees.
"Technical solutions engineer" -- probably? I don't know the particulars of Google Seattle, but they should be able to find a job that uses their skills.
Given Google is not in financial difficulty and these employees were not at fault of anything, this layoff would have been illegal in France.
If these employees were not contractors or on a short-term contract, this layoff could easily be contested and Google would have to pay up to 1 month's pay per year worked at Google (minimum 3 month's pays)
Google could have negotiated with the employees to end the contract at a better price.
This is why many international companies are loathe to hire new employees in France. They'll get contractors, sure. But real employees can be a major pain to deal with from an HR perspective, and be that major pain for a year or more.
Belgium isn't much different. I lived and worked there for almost eight years, and I saw this problem in spades from the other side.
Considering how many teams are hiring at Google, multiple hundreds of jobs in Seattle alone — I would be surprised if this person couldn’t find a job if they tried not particularly hard.
Disclosure: I worked for Google for 7 years, was an Eng Director, and (indirectly) managed hundreds of employees.