Googlers react to Jeff Dean's shock departure: 'Google is finally open-sourcing him for humanity'

Jeff Dean worked at Google for 27 years. Bloomberg/Getty Images Google chief scientist Jeff Dean announced on Wednesday that he is leaving the company in a leadership shakeup. Employees peppered the central message board with jokes and heartfelt messages. Dean was one of Google's earliest employees, and his status both inside and outside the company is legendary. Google chief scientist Jeff Dean, one of the company's most respected engineers and executives, is leaving the search giant as part of a broader AI leadership shake-up at the search giant. Naturally, employees have had something to say about his shock departure. Googlers peppered the company's central message board with memes and posts about Dean's departure, according to several posts seen by Business Insider. Some of them riffed on "Jeff Dean Facts" — a running gag where staff post ridiculous and exaggerated "facts" about Dean's mythical status.