[ranchdubois]

On my first day at my new job out of college, IBM told me the location I requested for in my offer letter could only be temporary as I was on "loan" in a budgetary sense. Now 6 months in, I must transition to a new role (which will not be in my current location). I have other offers in this area, but the agreement I had to sign to repay my bonus (which has been used to pay off student loans) if I voluntarily leave before a year of service is likely not something myself or a startup can make happen at this point. I feel trapped and it's not great.

[bm1362]

Anecdotally, I’ve had 2 friends leave companies where they owed a bonus to the company (50k) - one paid it back and one didn’t. The one who didn’t, never heard from them and it’s been over 2 years now.

Not advocating this, but don’t be miserable over a small sum of money. They’ll probably work with you on a repayment plan if necessary.

[jhayward]

A forced relocation may be regarded as a constructive dismissal. I would think if you were terminated for not accepting a transfer IBM would have a hard time claiming it was voluntary.