There is an overwhelming part of Google's employees in SV, but seeing this from the company's perspective: they're either going to have to take the battle with all other offices who now want the higher SV salary, or they have to take the battle with only the highest-paying office.
It'll be way cheaper--and hence the obvious corp strategy--to lower salaries in SV than increasing them everywhere else (because everyone is already "remote from SV").
It'll be way cheaper--and hence the obvious corp strategy--to lower salaries in SV than increasing them everywhere else (because everyone is already "remote from SV").