Goodbye to big tech’s big perks? Singapore workers say global techlash has come for their benefits

SINGAPORE: Big tech companies once represented the best of both worlds in corporate life – the boundless optimism of working in a field with seemingly endless growth, and great work-life balance padded with lavish perks and luxurious offices.

But employees say the post-pandemic period has been a wake-up call for those who believed in the promise of big tech. The tech industry’s cutbacks have hit close to home, affecting offices, benefits and career opportunities.

Eleven current and former Singapore-based employees at Apple, ByteDance, Microsoft, Google and Meta, who spoke to The Straits Times on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the press, shared a common lament: The golden era of big tech perks and benefits may be coming to a close – and their firms now increasingly resemble the established corporate outfits they once sought to differentiate from.

Most trace these changes to the end of 2022, when tech giants like Google and Meta realised the pandemic-driven boost to digital services would not last. As economic uncertainty mounted, layoffs started.

Thomas (not his real name), 39, a former Meta employee laid off during the company’s first round of cuts in November 2022, recalls how his team was disbanded overnight.

“My entire organisation of about 30 engineers and 10 cross-functional staff were informed on that day that we were impacted.”

Thomas was among over 11,000 people who lost their jobs, amounting to around 13 per cent of Meta’s global headcount at the time. This set the tone for what Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg would later call his company’s “year of efficiency” in 2023, which saw a further 10,000 jobs cut.

In hindsight, the signs were there. Thomas’ team had been reassigned to new, lower-down-the-value chain work a few months before, and he began noticing cuts to employee perks.

Starting in 2022, news of tech giants’ cutbacks began making global headlines – from Meta cutting down on its free laundry service to Google reducing its free massages and gym services.

For Thomas, a key highlight of working at Meta was the employee-driven clubs, which the company sponsored to the tune of around US$75 (S$100) a person each quarter. “You would have many activities and events happening everywhere all the time – like a bubble tea club or mala club where they would organise outings, or a sports club with free coaching,” he recalls.

He adds: “Every tech company is doing layoffs, so the tech sector is definitely not as safe as it used to be, but it’s not so much the layoffs that changed how I look at the industry – it’s supply and demand.”

A CNN analysis found that between 2019 and 2022, Meta and Google’s parent company Alphabet had increased their headcount by 103 per cent and 64 per cent respectively. Big tech had misjudged the sustainability of its growth – and employees were paying the price.

“With thousands of fresh grads being pumped out every year, I don’t think the demand will catch up to what it was,” Thomas says. “But the benefits, even though they are maybe 60 per cent of what they used to be, are still best in class.”

End of an era?

Thomas’ experience is not unique. Others who survived the layoffs at Meta and other big tech firms in Singapore say they experienced a series of cutbacks to the benefits that big tech is legendary for, from catering to business travel to insurance coverage.

Among the popular perks that have been progressively rolled back at big tech firms here are flexible work arrangements enabled by remote work that became the norm during the pandemic.

Employees at Google, TikTok, Apple and Meta say a three-day return-to-office mandate is now the norm in their offices, though some teams have more exacting requirements.

Among big tech firms in Singapore, Microsoft and Amazon stand out as exceptions when it comes to flexible work arrangements. Microsoft has not implemented a companywide mandate, while Amazon chief executive officer Andy Jassy has announced a five-day return to office starting in 2025.

Google worker Lance (not his real name) says that although his company now tracks employees’ trips to the office through their access passes, the company’s “soft power” moves help with the mandate.

The company provides shuttle buses to help employees avoid the crowded commute. Free meals remain attractive reasons to come in.

However, the engineer, who is in his early 30s, says the loss of flexi-work is felt in other ways. “It used to be easy to transfer to another office, but it’s almost impossible to do so now.”

Lance says a colleague’s request for remote work outside of Singapore for family reasons was approved before this cut in flexibility, while his manager’s request for the same reasons was rejected – meaning those who cannot comply with a return to office might have to leave altogether.

An Apple engineer, who wants to be known as Alex and works in its Singapore office in collaboration with teams in San Francisco and Shanghai, finds the three-day return to office reasonable because it allows more connection with colleagues.

However, the 30-something expresses concern over how the mandate – and other broader cutbacks in benefits – have given large tech firms a convenient outlet to reduce headcount.

The pandemic-driven push for remote work meant that some colleagues, such as those based in the US, relocated to their home states, away from their offices. Alex observes that some of them had to quit after in-office requirements were announced for different parts of the company in 2022 and 2023.

“I think these are part of a larger move to push employees to quit as a cost-cutting measure, rather than the company having to conduct a costly layoff,” says Alex.

On this matter, Apple declined to comment.

Another top-of-mind issue for many workers is the clampdown on business travel.

Google engineer Hamish (not his real name), who is in his mid 20s and has been with the company for over three years, finds some cutbacks affecting catering and in-office events bearable. His chief complaint is reduced business travel.

“I love travelling, but nowadays, it’s under so much scrutiny, it’s practically impossible to go on business trips unless it is critical,” he says. “Before the end of 2022, employees were generally allowed to travel to conferences and summits once a year. Now, that’s off the table.”

In response to queries from ST, Mr Kieran Maher, Google’s director of Apac (Asia-Pacific) compensation and benefits, says: “We continue to provide industry-leading benefits and robust learning opportunities for Googlers to invest in their professional growth.”

John (not his real name), who has worked at Amazon and left Microsoft earlier in 2024 after five years in technical sales, described the state of the industry as grim.

“It’s definitely getting worse. Everyone is in survival mode, and money is being spent on artificial intelligence data centres, not people,” says the former tech worker, who is in his early 40s.

He says it was demoralising to see Microsoft freeze pay raises and slash employee benefits, even though the company saw a 7.69 per cent increase in profits in 2023.

Perks on the chopping block included loss of access to the company’s game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, costing $18.90 a month – reversed after a mini revolt from staff – and a steep reduction in travel budgets.

“Regular trips to the US, to feel like you’re part of something bigger, have been slashed. It’s all remote and impersonal now,” says John.

A company off-site meeting that took place earlier in 2024 – the first since the pandemic – is illustrative of this, he adds. He recalls that the company had budgeted just US$1,000 a person, which was not enough to cover return flights to Seattle – near Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters – for many and especially those based in Singapore.

“We basically drew straws to let two team members go, pooling our money together to fund their trip,” he says.

With conversations around the water cooler taking on a negative tone, John decided to leave the tech sector.

“I would not have entertained roles outside tech prior to these changes. But now I am happier, and the compensation is comparable. It’s not like people are being overpaid in tech any more,” he adds.

When asked to comment, a Microsoft spokesperson says the company adjusts rewards based on local market dynamics and competitiveness, which includes merit budgets in 2024, as well as annual bonuses, stock funding and promotion budgets.

Benefit packages not the full story

However, workers say that focusing on the loss of benefits such as business travel and lavish food offerings misses the bigger picture.

Jade (not her real name), who works for Meta’s regulatory team, recalls how in November 2022, its American staff found out about the global layoffs in the morning (evening Singapore time), while their counterparts in Apac were left to spend a night wondering who would be hit.

Having moved to Singapore in 2019, she recounts: “I spent the entire night not knowing if I had 30 days to leave the country. In the morning, some of us got the e-mail and some of us didn’t, and there was no method to the madness.

“No explanation was provided to us, and our regional leadership kept telling us it was just an Excel sheet exercise; it was pure luck. They were just hitting a target, it was not personal.”

What also stung was how Meta’s Apac workers were sometimes “treated as secondary” because of employment laws.

“In the US, you have to give workers adequate heads up. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, you must have negotiation periods. But in Apac, it’s just: ‘Here it is, take your gardening leave. Please leave, this is your package.’”

Jade says the brutal layoffs during Meta’s year of efficiency have ingrained a culture of anxiety and insecurity.

“During the pandemic, we expanded like crazy. I don’t think the expansion was thought through, and that was the crux of the problem,” she adds. She says that following the layoffs, there was a rise in office politics and bitter infighting over overlapping responsibilities among teams.

“The story to me isn’t about benefit packages, but about middle management and why these systems failed.”

Meta did not respond to ST’s request for comment.

Similarly, former Googler Chen Shao Chun, 38, says the loss of fringe benefits and flexi-work is just the tip of the iceberg.

Chen, who was laid off in 2024 after nine years with Google, he says: “I’ve no issue with returning to the office. And I consider myself lucky because my employer provided free meals, a gym, coffee – so going to the office eliminated tasks like preparing my own meals. When I was working in banking, none of these perks were available.”

What mattered most were bigger-ticket items like changes in insurance providers, annual pay increments being decreased or eliminated, or promotion being curtailed – a sentiment echoed by other workers who spoke to ST.

Perks like gourmet coffee and business travel may matter more to those earlier in their careers, but the loss of career progression and pay raises hurts one’s quality of life in the longer term, says Chen.

Still, he acknowledges that compensation and benefits in the sector remain well ahead of others. “It’s only because things used to be much better that people are having a tough time reconciling and accepting that the good times are over,” he says.

Big tech’s new normal

Beyond the tangible cuts, many employees feel a deeper sense of loss: a shift in the progressive company culture that once set big tech apart from traditional corporations.

For Apple employee Alex, seeing former colleagues lose their jobs at another tech company was a harsh reminder that for all the hype of big tech, it is ultimately just another job.

Despite some reduced employee benefits at Apple, the 30-something tech worker has no intention of leaving the company. “I am still passionate and good at what I do, but I would warn others who are looking to switch careers to tech in hopes of a ‘well-paid iron rice bowl’ that that is not the reality any more.”

Unlike earlier years of double-digit growth, big tech firms now operate in a more hostile regulatory and public environment. The backlash against the biggest tech companies has reached such heights that a new term has risen to describe it: techlash.

Former Google employee Mitra (not his real name), a 30-something product manager at TikTok, says the recent developments have damaged big tech’s reputation as an employer.

“I feel like the lustre has faded a bit. In 2018, it was very cool to work for Google. Now, it’s become less so,” he says.

“That’s the biggest loss. Not the loss in benefits, but the loss in identity and company spirit.”

Mitra points to Google’s history of employee walkouts over contentious decisions, like purported plans to launch an altered search engine to please censors in China in 2018, or reports of massive severance packages to executives accused of misconduct in the same year.

“These sparked a huge internal backlash because the workers felt like they were part of the decision-making then,” he says, adding that he – and others in the Google Singapore office – participated in the 2018 employee walkout.

Mitra says the company’s unusual approach of encouraging staff to dedicate 20 per cent of their time towards side projects that could become company innovations created an environment of bottom-up change and ownership. In the years since, however, Google has shed its “don’t be evil” motto – a slogan calling for the company to avoid exploiting users – and clamped down on employee activism.

“Google has ordered itself into a more structured approach to its business instead of more chaotic innovation,” he adds.

He also expresses concern about the rise of protectionism in the US and its impact on his former company’s culture. “A lot of strategic roles and higher-level roles were stripped away and pushed back to the US, and roles in Apac are diminished in agency,” he says.

In response, Google’s Mr Maher says the company “continues to invest in and expand leadership positions across the Asia-Pacific, recognising its vital role in our global growth strategy”.

In contrast, at Mitra’s current workplace, a different set of political pressures exists.

TikTok is facing a number of legal challenges across the globe. The company is suing the US government over legislation that would force it to divest US operations or face a national ban. It is also challenging an order from the Canadian government to close its offices in the country.

At the heart of these challenges is a long-standing perception that TikTok – despite being headquartered in Singapore and Los Angeles – has a Chinese centre of gravity.

Mitra says the company’s Chinese origin seeps into its culture. “Your work-life balance is influenced by your proximity to the Chinese teams. Working more closely with them means your job is more secure, but there is a greater expectation of overtime due to erratic demands from your Chinese counterparts.”

“TikTok’s company culture is not progressive by default,” he adds, noting the contrast to other big tech firms. “The benefits are nowhere near as good as Google’s, but they’re improving.”

Max (not his real name), 24, who works at TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, says that while these issues are cause for concern, he prefers staying the course for now.

“Even with the potential for layoffs looming in tech, I think other industries aren’t able to offer me as competitive a remuneration package,” he adds. “This also comes from a position of personal privilege – since I do not have any financial liabilities, my priorities now are less about stability.”

When asked to comment, a TikTok spokesperson says the company has a “multicultural workforce due to the global nature of our business and working hours are not determined by interactions with specific teams”.

The spokesperson adds that the company continuously evaluates employee benefits to ensure TikTok is attracting and retaining the best talent.

The shift in big tech’s culture is not just an internal matter, however, as it can have far-reaching impact on those who rely on its platforms.

Meta worker Jade says: “Because we weren’t responsible for earning money, a lot of teams that were responsible for things like ensuring child sexual abuse does not stay on our platforms are half of what they used to be.”

“Are we functioning at the same place that we were at before 2022? God knows.

“When it comes to trade-offs, it’s always the places that earn less that are deprioritised, and the people who make less money who are deprioritised,” she adds, pointing to teams focusing on platform trust and safety.

She observes that ultimately, most workers in the tech sector will stay – or strive to – because little else compares in terms of impact and benefits.

“Because (Meta) wants to keep the employees who stayed happy, they’ll occasionally have new things rolled out in the micro kitchen, so that people feel like, ‘So what if things aren’t working the best, at least we’re eating the best snacks’.” – The Straits Times/ANN