Cutting pay is “one of the most insulting, emotionally difficult things you can do to an employee,” Laszlo Bock says. He notes that while Google's plan to adjust pay based on cost of living for where employees are located may be seen as a practical solution, this will only prompt workers to leave. “It really pisses people off,” Bock says. “It’s a huge mistake, unless you’re trying to get those people to quit.”
Bock, who is now CEO of Humu, suggests that Google should instead give its employees who live in less pricey cities tinier and less frequent pay hikes.