Google Offers Year-Long Leave to Retain Employees
- London – Google's DeepMind division allegedly paid several of its internal artificial intelligence software engineers to essentially do nothing for a year,according to multiple former employees.
- The agreement provided a 12-month leave of absence during which the departing DeepMind staff continued to receive their regular salaries from the technology giant, sources said.
- Typically, Google's employment contracts include non-compete clauses designed to prevent former employees from joining rival companies for a specified period after leaving the organization.
Google’s DeepMind Reportedly paid AI Engineers for Year-Long Leave
London – Google’s DeepMind division allegedly paid several of its internal artificial intelligence software engineers to essentially do nothing for a year,according to multiple former employees. These individuals, based in the UK, were reportedly asked to agree to non-compete agreements in exchange for an extended, paid leave.
The agreement provided a 12-month leave of absence during which the departing DeepMind staff continued to receive their regular salaries from the technology giant, sources said.
Typically, Google’s employment contracts include non-compete clauses designed to prevent former employees from joining rival companies for a specified period after leaving the organization. The application of these clauses varies based on factors such as an employee’s seniority and the significance of their contributions.
Of the four former employees cited, two indicated that a six-month non-compete agreement was standard practice at DeepMind. These agreements also reportedly applied to individual contributors involved in the advancement of the Gemini AI model.
While some may view this extended leave as a positive perk,some employees expressed concern about perhaps falling behind in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. One former DeepMind employee stated that “one year is a very long time in the AI world.”
Google maintains that its employee contracts align with market standards and that it selectively utilizes non-compete agreements to safeguard the company’s interests.
However, some DeepMind employees reportedly feel that these clauses restrict their career options. The tech industry has seen significant workforce reductions recently, with companies like Google, Meta, HP, and Microsoft collectively cutting over 8,500 jobs in March.
Despite industry leaders like Sam Altman of OpenAI,Jensen Huang of Nvidia,and Bill Gates of Microsoft suggesting that AI could displace many workers,AI engineers are generally considered to be in demand,at least for the foreseeable future.