Grindr loses around 45% of its workforce to enforce strict rules and regulations Return to Office Policy This comes after most employees announced plans to unionize.
About 80 of the LGBTQ dating app company’s 178 employees were forced to resign after the company in August asked employees to return to work in person at a designated “hub” office two days a week, the Communications Workers of America said in a report , otherwise it will be fired. statement on Wednesday.
The West Hollywood, California-based company also offered severance packages to employees who were unable to relocate, according to a statement from the group, which it said was a move to “prevent employees from speaking out about their working conditions.” The CWA filed a new labor complaint against the company on Wednesday, the second such complaint in about a month.
“These decisions left Grindr severely understaffed and raised questions among users about the app’s security and stability,” Erick Cortez, a member of the group, said in a statement. , Grindr wants workers to silence and prevent them from exercising their right to organize, no matter the cost.”
A Grindr spokesperson said the union’s claims were “without merit” and that the company “looks forward to returning to the office in October in a hybrid mode, further improving productivity and collaboration across the team.”
Chief Executive George Arison told investors at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology conference in San Francisco this week that the mandate is expected to lead to more staff turnover, which would provide a financial advantage in the short term.
“The team size will be smaller than what we were and what we wanted,” Arison said. “So, that’s obviously going to have a positive effect on margins in the short term. But I also think it shows that you can have a lot of leverage in this business because you don’t need that big of a team to do what we need to do. things.”
Arison said staffing is the “biggest single cost” after paying app distribution platforms such as Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.
A review of LinkedIn posts by former Grindr employees revealed that they left in a variety of roles, including iOS app development, data engineering, and product strategy.
Grindr’s public showdown underscores broader tensions between employers and workers, as more workers are called back to the office after years of flexible working policies during the pandemic.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reinforced his RTO rhetoric, to tell According to Insider, some employees refused to abide by the company’s three-day office rule, “it may not be for you.” AT&T told 60,000 managers They have to come to work in person at one of nine locations, which some employees see as a move to reduce staffing.
Research by real estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield shows that the mandate to return to the office can hurt employee engagement and the ability of employees to perform at their best. “If you take away employee freedom of choice, you pay a huge price,” says Bryan Berthold, global leader, workplace experience, on LinkedIn. postal Report on August.
The CWA told the National Labor Relations Board in August that the policy was a retaliatory reaction On July 20, the workers announced the formation of a union. Pro-union workers said labor organizing was still a work in progress as it had not yet been approved by the company, but the proposed bargaining unit of about 100 employees had overwhelming support.
Grindr last month raised its full-year revenue growth and margin forecasts due to high demand for its recently launched weekly subscription service and other new features. The stock is up 17% this year.
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