Companies like Google often employ non-compete clauses in their contracts for as long as a year to prevent their employees from switching their careers to a competitor. However, the Mountain View behemoth throws in a massive sweetener because of the heated rivalry in the AI space, with a new report claiming that based on several factors, the workforce hailing from DeepMind can make as much as a whole year’s salary while doing nothing. If this perk does not make you question your current choices, we do not know what will.
Some ex-Google DeepMind employees stated that a 6-month non-compete is common as AI wars continue to heat up
Information provided by former Google staff has been reported by Business Insider, with these individuals preferring to stay anonymous. Turns out that even after employees quit, the advertising giant’s hunger for staying ahead of the artificial intelligence pack is so high that it is willing to forego an entire year’s worth of funds just so these individuals do not head over to the competition. Of course, as you would have guessed, obtaining a 12-month pay depends on a ton of things, such as seniority and how critical the work was.
Two former Google DeepMind employees who contributed to the company’s Gemini AI models, stated that a 6-month non-compete is considered regular practice. A company spokesperson highlighted that these contracts are ‘in line with market standards’ and given the sensitive nature being done in this division, these non-competes serve to protect the firm’s ‘legitimate interests.’
Another ex-DeepMind employee said they were aware of colleagues who contemplated leaving the U.K. for jobs in California just to get out of the non-compete, stating that it was an ‘abuse of power.’ Even if the workforce no longer under Google’s employment continues to receive their non-compete bonuses, the problem arises when there are existing opportunities that these people miss out on.
For instance, AI startups are not willing to wait for six months to a year for the non-compete clause to end, so a ton of individuals end up missing out on what could be potentially lucrative career paths. One former Google employee mentioned that non-competes are prevalent in the generative AI boom because even a six-month gap means the company spearheading one artificial intelligence model will gain a solid lead against another competitor, signifying how insanely brutal this industry has transformed into.
News Source: Business Insider
