Mountain View, CA — This week, a Google intern was discovered living in a trash receptacle behind the company’s Mountain View headquarters. Adharma Bajwa, a big data analyst from Bangalore, India, came to California last year on an H1B work visa to work for the information giant.
He soon learned that overseas contract employees aren’t paid the same as their local counterparts, so much less that he could not afford a place to stay in the notoriously expensive Bay Area.
“At first, I found a room to rent off of your Craigslist in East Palo Alto,” said Mr. Bajwa in a The Fazzler interview outside his trash receptacle. “But even that was a challenge, you see. I didn’t have enough money for food or to pay my share of the bills, so I left. Then I thought, I will just find a place near my work. And I can shower and eat there and put my money away in the bank.”
Google said they were just as shocked as anyone to hear of Mr. Bajwa living conditions.
“We are concerned about Adharma’s situation,” said Google Spokeswoman Bethany Millbright reading from a prepared statement. “Our employees are our most valuable asset at Google. And we want to make it clear that this is unacceptable. Our human resources department is working diligently to resolve this situation.”
At least one Google employee offered Mr. Bajwa a place to stay.
“I’ve got a couch in my apartment,” said Google Engineer Ryan Wolford, who leads the self-driving car group. “My place in Redwood City is small. A one-roomer. It was a motel room until the owners converted them into studios. Anyhow, it would be better than a dumpster.
As for Mr. Bajwa, he’s optimistic.
“I’m not sure why this is such a problem,” continued Mr. Bajwa. “This is a temporary setback, and I can fix this on my own. But I do appreciate Google looking into this for me.”
