[hellisothers]

Is it though? How is lowering an existing employee’s pay who moved away different than laying them off and hiring what you perceive as the exact same skill level of employee in this remote location at a lower pay?

Ignoring the whole “well my company already knows I’m a great fit and hiring somebody new is a risk” argument as that is an issue with hiring & firing generally.

[fileeditview]

It's different because it may not be so easy to find an "equal" replacement. And they could pretty easily get into that situation. If enough developers quit after such a pay cut and find work at other employers that don't play this game then Google may have some trouble.

And then you have to ask: "was this worth it?". And my guess would be no.