Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter plan to pay their hourly workers regular wages as they ask their staff to work from home

Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Twitter all told Axios on Thursday night that they plan to pay their hourly workers regular wages even as they encourage …

Axios 2020-03-07 Ina Fried

Context & Ripple Effects

This lands one day after Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Twitter asked their Bay Area staff to work from home and alongside Amazon, Google, and Facebook doing the same in Seattle — the wage pledge is what turns those remote-work advisories from a perk question into a payroll commitment. It matters because hourly workers (cafeteria staff, shuttles, facilities) have no work-from-home option, so the companies are choosing to pay for labor they aren't using.

The follow-on coverage frames how durable that choice is: by November, [[a:960070|most major Silicon Valley tech companies were still paying their thousands of unionized blue-collar workers]], but with no stated end date, and spring reporting on the challenges Apple, Facebook, and Google workers faced away from the office showed the policy stretching well past the two weeks it was framed around.

First-order effects

Hourly workers at all six named companies keep collecting regular wages even though offices are emptying, converting an emergency health measure into a direct cost line for Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter.

Second-order effects

Rival employers of the same Bay Area and Seattle service workforces face pressure to match the pay-continuity standard or lose those workers, and staffing vendors who supply cafeterias and facilities now negotiate against clients paying idle headcount.

Third-order effects

As remote policies stretch — Alphabet, Microsoft, and Salesforce were still extending them into 2021 while offering tools to get workers back into offices — the industry hardens into a two-tier structure: salaried staff who can work anywhere, and hourly or unionized blue-collar staff whose pay depends on periodic corporate goodwill decisions rather than hours worked.

The trend: Big Tech's pandemic response is institutionalizing a two-tier workforce, where pay continuity for hourly and blue-collar workers becomes a recurring executive decision rather than a normal payroll function.

Discussion

@bradsmi Brad Smith on x
While the work to protect public health needs to speed up, the economy can't afford to slow down. That's one reason we will pay the hourly workers who support our campuses their regular wages as we manage through COVID-19. https://blogs.microsoft.com/ ...
@twittercomms @twittercomms on x
A Seattle-based employee has been advised by their doctor that they likely have COVID-19, though still awaiting final testing. While the employee has not been at a Twitter office for several weeks & hasn't been in contact w/others - we're closing our Seattle office to deep clean.
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
coronavirus lays bare how contract labor force immediately faces difficulties that FT Employees do not under imposed quarantine the “flexibility” positioned as a benefit by uber&Lyft becomes liability — no work means no paycheck
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
It's the right thing to do. Good for these companies. https://twitter.com/...
@wycats Yehuda Katz on x
Just gotta say, Microsoft thought things through with regard to hourly workers. This is how big companies should be thinking about, and communicating what they're doing. https://blogs.microsoft.com/ ...
@rosenbergerlm Laura Rosenberger on x
This is a really great move and I hope all large companies will follow suit. https://twitter.com/...
@hmeisler Helene Meisler on x
AMZN steps up. Shockingly https://twitter.com/...
@avichal Avichal Garg on x
Each @ycombinator batch has at least $1 billion company. With Demo Day entirely online, this batch may have the first unicorn and IPO where fundraising happened entirely online! It's not a big a leap to imagine this being normal in 10 years. https://blog.ycombinator.com/ ...
@geekwire @geekwire on x
Microsoft just announced that it will continue to pay all vendor hourly service providers, independent of whether their full services are needed as Seattle-area employees work from home. The company has 4,500 hourly employees in the Puget Sound region. https://www.geekwire.com/..…
@vogueandcode April Speight on x
As a former hourly worker, this means a lot 🙏🏾 https://twitter.com/...
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
#diversity and #inclusion conversations tend to focus on gender and race but #inclusion is way broader and any company serious about inclusion should look at the socio-economic mix of their employees including contractors. Being inclusive means giving everyone a voice & an option…
@mor10 @mor10 on x
The immediate financial hit of #Covid_19 is being felt hardest by hourly workers and small business owners whose income depends on a constant flow of work. It's good to see companies like Microsoft taking steps to ensure people get paid during the crisis. https://blogs.microsoft.…
@inafried Ina Fried on x
Update: Amazon will pay apx. 10,000 hourly workers that support its Seattle-area offices, including food service, security, janitorial, while employees work from home. https://www.axios.com/...
@inafried Ina Fried on x
Also, Amazon will subsidize one month of rent for the local businesses that operate inside our owned buildings. https://www.axios.com/...
@jhtscherck John-Henry Scherck on x
This is great, and doesn't just apply to business owners. If you are cancelling things like dog walking and house keeping services, continue to pay those people. Let them know you will do so right now. They are *stressed* about their health AND their income. https://twitter.com/.…
@repadamsmith Rep. Adam Smith on x
This is a thoughtful decision from Microsoft as we continue to combat coronavirus. I encourage companies with employees working from home to take into account ALL who could be impacted. We must protect our workers as we continue to ensure the safety and health of our communities.…
@markwarner Mark Warner on x
I appreciate @Microsoft's leadership in ensuring that its hourly workers won't face financial hardship because of steps to combat the spread of coronavirus. I hope more companies will follow their lead and make sure workers aren't penalized for following public health directions.…
@etherealmind @etherealmind on x
The term for this is “noblesse oblige”. In the 17th century, rich people realised that the plague among the poor affected them as well. This led to company housing, food and medical to improve worker health which raised productivity. Apparently we have to relearn this. https://tw…
@jdaykin Jerry Daykin on x
Important point - the worst off in society are the worst hit by sickness, office closures etc whilst some of us sit around on our comfy conference calls. Great to see Microsoft making a clear stand. https://twitter.com/...
@ksubs1 Karthik Subramaniam on x
Microsoft continues to impress me more and more with the humanity they use to approach challenges that affect our broader community. This is wonderful to see, and should become the norm, not the exception. https://twitter.com/...
@davmicrot David Rothschild on x
“4,500 hourly employees who work in our facilities will continue to receive their regular wages even if their work hours are reduced.” @Microsoft is doing it right. https://twitter.com/...
@kimzetter Kim Zetter on x
Microsoft will continue to pay all support staff who earn an hourly wage even if their services aren't needed while salaried employees work from home due to coronavirus. “individuals who work for our vendors and staff our cafes, drive our shuttles...” https://blogs.microsoft.com/…
@inafried Ina Fried on x
New: Facebook, Google, Twitter all say they, like Microsoft, will make sure hourly workers, including contractors, are paid while they encourage employees to work from home. https://www.axios.com/...
@vickyharp Vicky Harp on x
Microsoft Puget Sound and Bay Area employees: “Consistent with King County guidance, we are recommending all employees who are in a job that can be done from home should do so through March 25th” https://twitter.com/...

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