Another approach Apple could take would be to pay people who come into the office more money.
Inflation provides a nice cover for this sort of thing. Come into the office, you get a 10% pay increase. WFH, pay stays the same as last year (which, with inflation, is effectively a pay cut).
I'm sure that wouldn't budge some, but it's a way to nudge the nudge-able without going to the extreme of forcing people to leave.
Ironically that is what Google is doing, pay more if you show up to office
Another approach Apple could take would be to pay people who come into the office more money.
Inflation provides a nice cover for this sort of thing. Come into the office, you get a 10% pay increase. WFH, pay stays the same as last year (which, with inflation, is effectively a pay cut).
I'm sure that wouldn't budge some, but it's a way to nudge the nudge-able without going to the extreme of forcing people to leave.
Ironically that is what Google is doing, pay more if you show up to office
Most of the big Silicon Valley companies are doing this.
If you take a remote-only position, you aren't going to get paid wages based on where the headquarters are. You will get paid an adjusted rate based on local cost of living. So if you are working from home at Tahoe City, NV, you aren't going to get paid what people in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Cupertino, or Mountain View will get paid.
This isn't specific to tech either. There are tons of other industries with remote workers who are getting paid wages relative to their locale.
BREAKING: Worker in Silicon Valley leaves one job for another with more pay/benefits. Again.
Actually Goodfellow stepped down from a middle management position to return as an individual contributor (that is, an engineering position). Most likely his salary is less as an engineer at Google than his director level salary at Apple, probably being paid at the high end of the range for his position.
However he probably tried to negotiate for a fat RSU package. A typical vesting schedule in Silicon Valley is 20% at the grant date's one year anniversary plus 2% for every subsequent month. Thus to be fully vested, he'd need to wait 52 months (4.33 years). If he bails again after three years, he'll be 68% vested.
As for benefits, Alphabet and Apple should be pretty comparable. He might have an easier commute to the new Google complex at Moffett Field. In fact, if he is a Mountain View resident, he can likely hop on a bike/scooter and take the Stevens Creek Trail to the office.
One thing you got correct was the fact that Silicon Valley employees jump ship regularly.
Let's face it: this guy was essentially unhappy being a middle manager and wanted to return to engineering. Otherwise he probably would have taken another management position at Google. There's nothing wrong with him conceding that management was a poor fit. He can go back to what he loves doing and that probably benefits everyone involved. Apple doesn't really want some disgruntled director who is unhappy with his management responsibilities. Neither does Alphabet. Neither does Meta Platforms, etc.
However blaming it on Apple's RTW policy and then abandoning his own team (whom he claimed he was protecting) doesn't ring very convincingly.
“Benefits” need not be quantifiable as salary or RSUs alone. Enjoying the work is a benefit. My point stands - a worker left for a position he liked better.
Nor do we know he took a downgrade in salary. Or what he prefers or values. We simply don’t know anything and likely never will. Which makes it even less newsworthy.
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If you take a remote-only position, you aren't going to get paid wages based on where the headquarters are. You will get paid an adjusted rate based on local cost of living. So if you are working from home at Tahoe City, NV, you aren't going to get paid what people in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Cupertino, or Mountain View will get paid.
This isn't specific to tech either. There are tons of other industries with remote workers who are getting paid wages relative to their locale.
Nor do we know he took a downgrade in salary. Or what he prefers or values. We simply don’t know anything and likely never will. Which makes it even less newsworthy.