Google is looking to cut the pay of remote workers.
No, not hire remote workers at lower pay. But, those workers who went remote during COVID and they and their bosses realized they can do the work just as well if not better. The workers who had an agreement with Google about their pay. Yeah, they’re looking at a pay cut.
From NY to Seattle, Google is saying that since you are no longer communicating 2 hours each way, your pay should be based on the town in which you live… the one in which you’ve been living since you started working at Google.
Google places its office in expensive downtown locations. By letting employees work remotely, they can cut office space and save money. However, they are maximizing profits by minimizing costs for employees as well, if they can.
Employees are just assets
Once again we are reminded that employee loyalty to a company is unwarranted, particularly in large companies.
We get sucked into the “my boss is a great person” trap, attributing the attitude of the boss to the company.
Large companies, public companies particularly, are designed to do one thing, make as big a profit as possible. They will quickly and easily let employees go, cut their hours, reduce the benefits, and cut the pay of the can.
This is not a slight on big companies, but an acknowledgment of their reality. It is what they are.
Google can reduce costs by reducing workspace in high-rent markets if they allow employees with long commutes to work at home without a penalty. But, they’ve come up with this BS notion that they will cut pay based on where the employee lives.
The value of the work to the company hasn’t changed. The value of the employee to the company may actually improve. But, the business decision is to seek to reduce costs. That is great for Google and its shareholders. Not so much for employees.
Lesson: Do what you have to do for your good and the good of your family. Google, any large company, will be fine if you have to make changes. The days of the “lifer” are long past.