> Wouldn’t you kind of expect to be fired if you release a project under your employers name that’s not even associated with them and hasn’t been cleared?

Not really, no. I'd expect a stern reprimand, but getting fired is extreme.

I'm not sure if Google is still an attractive place to work, but this incident certainly isn't helping tip the scales.

I guess it may be semantics, but I agree that I would have the same expectation. However, I also I think getting fired would be a justified punishment in the situation.

It’d like playing a computer game during free library time at the school when I was a kid; I would expect to be reprimanded, however just outright barring use from the computer during free time would probably be justified.