I read some more context about this. This specific team are not google/youtube employees. They are Cognizant contractors working on YouTube Music. Apparently, their contract was set to expire on that exact day they were petitioning the city council for google to recognize their union. So there are 3 things here:

1. They are attempting to form a union and get recognized by google, but as employees of a different company working as contractors.

2. By coincidence, their contract was set to end on that day, which is kinda weird that they weren't aware.

3. Technically they aren't laid off by google, they will just report back to their employer. Now what happens with their employment with cognizant is another question. They will likely be "benched" until another client contract comes up, or maybe laid off as well.

I'm not defending google/youtube here, just sharing information I got that provides more context. Take that info as you will.