Of course it has. Go read the definition of "value". It's the market price, or a fair return or equivalent value, relative worth, etc.
You are literally less valuable if you work in some podunk town where cost of living is half. They pay you more to work in SF because in SF you're more valuable. Because it's a market full of other engineers who all demand (and will actually get) more pay. The company would love to devalue you, but they can't in SF.
You have to remember that they aren't paying you relative to your worth to the products. They're paying you relative to the costs necessary to produce the products. They want to reduce those costs, and so they will reduce those costs. One of those is paying the market rate for an engineer. Paying over the market rate is just throwing away money.
Of course it has. Go read the definition of "value". It's the market price, or a fair return or equivalent value, relative worth, etc.
You are literally less valuable if you work in some podunk town where cost of living is half. They pay you more to work in SF because in SF you're more valuable. Because it's a market full of other engineers who all demand (and will actually get) more pay. The company would love to devalue you, but they can't in SF.
You have to remember that they aren't paying you relative to your worth to the products. They're paying you relative to the costs necessary to produce the products. They want to reduce those costs, and so they will reduce those costs. One of those is paying the market rate for an engineer. Paying over the market rate is just throwing away money.