'Tech bros' complain as companies cut perks

Employees at the world’s largest tech companies are fretting over lost benefits as their leaders look for ways to cut costs amid an industry slump.

When amenities cease to exist, it can be like taking away a child’s favorite toy, reports the New York Post. And once-pampered “tech bros” are being brought back down to earth by the slow post-pandemic economy and a decreased emphasis on going into the office.

“They’re just picking away bit by bit. I think of it like death by a thousand cuts,” one anonymous employee at Facebook and Instagram parent Meta told the Post.

“Cutting perks affects morale, it affects how you feel about the company as a whole and how much the execs care about you.”

Tech companies began reconsidering swanky perks like free food, yoga classes and nap pods during the pandemic lockdowns, when offices were largely off-limits and many worked remote.

They were the first to go as firms tightened their belts in the wake of record-high inflation and a cooling digital advertising market. Earlier this year, Meta announced it was cutting free laundry and dry cleaning, and Google told employees they could no longer expense lunch while working from home.

Former employees recounted their favorite perks to The Post.

“The biggest perk of Instagram was definitely food,” said Christen Nino De Guzman, a former employee of Instagram and TikTok who launched her own startup. She recounted how she “didn’t have to go grocery shopping” because she could enjoy three meals a day cooked by Michelin-star chefs at the company kitchen.

A former Google employee said his favorite amenity at the company’s Mountain View office was the bowling alley.

“They also had so many game rooms and TV rooms. There was beer and alcohol everywhere, you could just take it whenever you wanted. It was like scouts’ honor with anything there,” he said, adding that he sometimes went into the 24/7 office on weekends just to get out of the house.

But De Guzman said the ability to work from home is now a bigger draw than any in-office perk.

“A big draw for Google and Meta is that they have this incredible campus. But now it’s like ‘Oh, well, if I only have to go to work once a week, do I care about that? I’d rather just work from home,'” she said.