Google CEO says he cut his family vacation short because of an anti-diversity scandal sparked by an employee's manifesto

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Sundar Pichai google ceo

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his wife Anjali Pichai.

Following the release of a controversial manifesto written by a Google employee, CEO Sundar Pichai said that the "very difficult few days" had forced him to end his family vacation.

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"I have been on work related travel in Africa and Europe the past couple of weeks and had just started my family vacation here this week," wrote Pichai in a company-wide memo. "I have decided to return tomorrow as clearly there's a lot more to discuss as a group - including how we create a more inclusive environment for all."

According to his memo, Pichai, along with Google's leadership team members, have scheduled a town hall meeting for Thursday.

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"The past few days have been very difficult for many at the company, and we need to find a way to debate issues on which we might disagree - while doing so in line with our Code of Conduct," Pichai wrote.

The scandal began Saturday, after a senior engineer at Google was reported to have written a 10-page anti-diversity manifesto that criticized Google's goals to increase gender and racial diversity. The memo also argued that biological differences made women less apt to perform in the tech industry.

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"We need to stop assuming that gender gaps imply sexism," the memo read.

The former Google engineer confirmed to Bloomberg that he was fired on Monday.

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