4 ms·

Every company that I’ve worked for which has offices in the SF Bay area and offices somewhere else has had a location-based adjustment to pay. Every single one.

Every company that I’ve worked for which has offices in the SF Bay area and offices somewhere else has had a location-based adjustment to pay. Every single one. Honestly, if I exercise my imagination a little bit and try to remember what it was like to live in a city which didn’t have jobs from most of the “big tech” companies, I would have loved to see a greater variety of job opportunities without being asked to move to SF/Seattle/NYC etc. It would have meant that I could get career growth and keep my friends and support network.

demarq 6y ago
But Also every company has a clause that prevents your pay being cut no?
- klodolph 6y ago
  No. If you relocated out of the SF bay area you would lose the adjustment. This has been true as long as I can remember. I remember seeing old email threads with people complaining about it.
- michaelcampbell 6y ago
  No. In fact, not a single company I've worked for has such a clause.
  - demarq 6y ago
    I've had that in quite a few companies. Their only recourse is to fire you if you unperformed, but reducing your pay is not allowed in the contract. This makes sense to me because I agree to do the job fox x dollars, you shouldn't be able to turn around and make me do the same job for less without my agreement and a new contract.
    - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
      I think that's a very uncommon structure, but regardless it's a voluntary pay cut in this case. Facebook isn't saying anyone has to move, and they won't get their pay cut if they don't.
    - selectodude 6y ago
      I think you're coming from a place where you're receiving contracts for employment. My employer's contract is "fuck you, show up to work and we can fire you and change the game whenever we please, also, fuck you.". I think that's the employment status for most people, at least here in the United States.
      - demarq 6y ago
        This makes sense for the average worker. But these are Facebook devs, surely they demand more knowing they have mobility. At that level signing "fuck you" contracts shouldn't make any sense.
        michaelcampbell 6y ago
        Sure it does; they value the "Facebook" entry on their resume more than the risk of being underpaid, pay change, fired at will, or any of the other risks. Whether or not you or I would value it the same can be debated, but clearly it's worth something to some.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- edu 6y ago
  I guess they cannot cut your pay if you keep the contract conditions, if you willingly move to another area... why not?
demarq 6y ago
Also if the value and quality of work is the same... shouldn't the pay remain the same. Also this leads to income inequality. A person from a poor neighborhood/country gets paid less than someone in a wealthy area.
- michaelcampbell 6y ago
  Of course. It also costs less to live there.
  - demarq 6y ago
    it costs less if I decide to cook rather than do take out, should I inform my employer I'm saving more money so they cut my salary. It's a perverse race to the bottom for the benefit of corporations at the expense of the worker and social income equality.
    - marcoperaza 6y ago
      Your mental model is all wrong. There's no moral calculus being used to determine how much you earn. If you want to think like that, then you'd have a hard time justifying differences in pay for different lines of work, especially since they don't correlate with how much or how hard you work. You don't make more than the guy laying tile because you work harder than him. It's because there's a lot more people who can do what he does than what you do. Labor is a market. It's supply and demand. All of that stuff you're talking about--the cost of eating out vs. cooking, rent in Silicon Valley vs. Wisconsin--doesn't need to be calculated. The market price for labor in a city is how much you need to offer to get enough qualified people to work for you in that city. People’s preferences, for eating out, for living here or there, are factored in to how much they’re willing to work for.
    - gridlockd 6y ago
      All employers always want to pay as little as possible. You get paid as much as you do because your labor in your area costs that much. Companies are competing for your labor, if they paid you less, you'd be way more likely to take another job elsewhere. Now suppose you could move somewhere else and didn't have to pay insane prices just to live in a shithole like San Francisco, but you'd have to take a pay cut - why wouldn't you do it? You'd earn less on paper but you'd have a better life.
NDizzle 6y ago
If you’re getting a location based pay adjustment you’re either working for a company that doesn’t give a shit about you or you aren’t negotiating hard enough. Both of these cases are fixable.

demarq 6y ago

But Also every company has a clause that prevents your pay being cut no?

klodolph 6y ago
No. If you relocated out of the SF bay area you would lose the adjustment. This has been true as long as I can remember. I remember seeing old email threads with people complaining about it.
michaelcampbell 6y ago
No. In fact, not a single company I've worked for has such a clause.
- demarq 6y ago
  I've had that in quite a few companies. Their only recourse is to fire you if you unperformed, but reducing your pay is not allowed in the contract. This makes sense to me because I agree to do the job fox x dollars, you shouldn't be able to turn around and make me do the same job for less without my agreement and a new contract.
  - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
    I think that's a very uncommon structure, but regardless it's a voluntary pay cut in this case. Facebook isn't saying anyone has to move, and they won't get their pay cut if they don't.
  - selectodude 6y ago
    I think you're coming from a place where you're receiving contracts for employment. My employer's contract is "fuck you, show up to work and we can fire you and change the game whenever we please, also, fuck you.". I think that's the employment status for most people, at least here in the United States.
    - demarq 6y ago
      This makes sense for the average worker. But these are Facebook devs, surely they demand more knowing they have mobility. At that level signing "fuck you" contracts shouldn't make any sense.
      - michaelcampbell 6y ago
        Sure it does; they value the "Facebook" entry on their resume more than the risk of being underpaid, pay change, fired at will, or any of the other risks. Whether or not you or I would value it the same can be debated, but clearly it's worth something to some.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
edu 6y ago
I guess they cannot cut your pay if you keep the contract conditions, if you willingly move to another area... why not?

demarq 6y ago

Also if the value and quality of work is the same... shouldn't the pay remain the same. Also this leads to income inequality. A person from a poor neighborhood/country gets paid less than someone in a wealthy area.

michaelcampbell 6y ago
Of course. It also costs less to live there.
- demarq 6y ago
  it costs less if I decide to cook rather than do take out, should I inform my employer I'm saving more money so they cut my salary. It's a perverse race to the bottom for the benefit of corporations at the expense of the worker and social income equality.
  - marcoperaza 6y ago
    Your mental model is all wrong. There's no moral calculus being used to determine how much you earn. If you want to think like that, then you'd have a hard time justifying differences in pay for different lines of work, especially since they don't correlate with how much or how hard you work. You don't make more than the guy laying tile because you work harder than him. It's because there's a lot more people who can do what he does than what you do. Labor is a market. It's supply and demand. All of that stuff you're talking about--the cost of eating out vs. cooking, rent in Silicon Valley vs. Wisconsin--doesn't need to be calculated. The market price for labor in a city is how much you need to offer to get enough qualified people to work for you in that city. People’s preferences, for eating out, for living here or there, are factored in to how much they’re willing to work for.
  - gridlockd 6y ago
    All employers always want to pay as little as possible. You get paid as much as you do because your labor in your area costs that much. Companies are competing for your labor, if they paid you less, you'd be way more likely to take another job elsewhere. Now suppose you could move somewhere else and didn't have to pay insane prices just to live in a shithole like San Francisco, but you'd have to take a pay cut - why wouldn't you do it? You'd earn less on paper but you'd have a better life.

NDizzle 6y ago

If you’re getting a location based pay adjustment you’re either working for a company that doesn’t give a shit about you or you aren’t negotiating hard enough. Both of these cases are fixable.