[mytailorisrich]

> why on earth would you pay people based on location?

Because a company always tries to spend less, however they try to put it.

That's exactly why Stripe is offering a pay cut to employees who volunteer to move to cheaper areas: Cheaper cost of living is an argument to lower salaries and thus to cut costs.

I think that the move to remote work, if it is here to stay, won't be good for people who leave in expensive areas and/or have high salaries. Suddenly they are in direct competition with people who are willing to accept a lower salary because they live somewhere cheaper.

A company has a financial interest in paying remote employees based on location. This is the same as opening an office in a cheap location/country in order to save on salary costs.

The problem is a human one within the team, let's call it 'fairness', indeed: People may object if some of their teammates (not some distant employee) make more than them simply based on where they live.