The point is that the companies are making the same amount of revenue regardless of where you live. If Google cuts your salary 50% because you move to a cheaper area, maybe that doesn't make a difference to you but it is free profit for Google shareholders. It makes it more obvious to people that the amount they are paid and the amount of marginal profit they earn for the company is WILDLY incommensurate, even for over-compensated Silly Valley engineers, and would be even moreso if you move somewhere cheaper and take a pay cut.
>. If Google cuts your salary 50% because you move to a cheaper area, maybe that doesn't make a difference to you but it is free profit for Google shareholders.
And thats exactly how a company should operate - maximize profit while minimizing cost. And conversly, as an individual, you should do the exact same, which is get paid as much as you can for your work (or do the minimum amount of work for the pay you get). When both of those strategies meet in the middle, you get a paid job position.
> The point is that the companies are making the same amount of revenue regardless of where you live.
Agreed entirely. It depends on what specifically we're discussing. I often look at hiring.
> If Google cuts your salary 50% because you move to a cheaper area, maybe that doesn't make a difference to you but it is free profit for Google shareholders. It makes it more obvious to people that the amount they are paid and the amount of marginal profit they earn for the company is WILDLY incommensurate, even for over-compensated Silly Valley engineers, and would be even moreso if you move somewhere cheaper and take a pay cut.
I wouldn't work somewhere that did this for this very reason. But there's a huge difference to paying someone based on their finances, and negotiating hiring pay. I'm just talking about hiring pay being negotiable.
They could also hire more engineers or expand into new territory which requires additional (non-engineering) labor. The cost of living in the bay area seems almost an artificial constraint on the supply of labor at these companies
