Google angers employees with 'hypocritical' remote work policies

As Google employees around the world make plans for post-pandemic work at the tech giant, Laura de Vesine won't be among them. For months, de Vesine, a senior site reliability engineer, went back and forth with the company over a potential relocation. Fed up with Google's inflexible policies, she handed in her notice. Her last day is Friday. 

For de Vesine, Google's attempt to corral its employees after a year of remote work has been marked by indecision and backpedaling. Last fall, her team was told it would need to relocate to North Carolina from the company's office in Sunnyvale, California, about 40 miles south of San Francisco. The prospect of ditching Bay Area housing prices and long commutes was a powerful draw. The move, however, came with a 15% salary cut, she said. Then in late March, the team was told it would be a 25% cut. About a month later, the team relocation plans were scrapped altogether. 

"This feeling that I can't realistically leave the Bay Area and work for Google is enough for me to have decided to leave," de Vesine said. "It's the fact that Google doesn't prioritize the needs of human beings. The fact that we have lives outside of work, that people actually have families."

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