The reason it affects all of us is because those firms have been defining the high-end of market compensation. And, for clarity, compensation isn't just the mo

The reason it affects all of us is because those firms have been defining the high-end of market compensation. And, for clarity, compensation isn't just the money — which they generally do max out — but it's also all the intangibles. It's the free gyms and laundry services, the vast campuses with endless free restaurants and kitchens, and, yes, the formerly-free-wheeling remote-work policies and location strategies. Once these firms start slashing comp [1] and their stock prices are unaffected (or even boosted), it "inspires" everyone else to start looking around and seeing how they can pay their own engineers less. Today, it may just be FAANG that's slashing remote perks — tomorrow, all the other companies will follow, and maybe they'll be "inspired" to "adjust" their health insurance benefits at the same time, too. [1]: It is also a fascinating coincidence to me that all these firms declared RTO around the same time.