Grindr loses nearly half of staff due to return-to-office mandate
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California: Nearly half of Grindr's employees have resigned following the company's strict return-to-office mandate.
Grindr, a popular LGBTQ dating app, instructed its employees to work in the office two days a week starting from October or face termination after August 31.
The policy gave employees a two-week window to decide whether to relocate to their team's assigned "hub" city for in-person work or leave the company with severance pay. Approximately 80 out of 178 Grindr employees chose not to relocate and were subsequently forced to resign. Many of these employees were initially hired to work remotely but were later required to move to designated hub cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C, reported CNN.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) alleges that the return-to-work policy was implemented in retaliation for a union drive at the company. The policy shift came after around 100 Grindr employees initiated a union campaign in July to protect staff amid widespread tech industry layoffs.
The CWA stated, "Rather than recognise the union, the company issued a new return-to-office policy requiring staff to relocate or quit." The union has filed an unfair labour practice charge against Grindr with the National Labor Relations Board.
Grindr has responded to the allegations, asserting that they have "no merit."
A Grindr spokesperson emphasised their commitment to a hybrid office model starting in October and expressed optimism about improving productivity and collaboration for the entire team.
The move to return to the office has been a trend among several companies, including Meta, Google, and Amazon.
