Coinbase Has A New Plan For Dealing With Office SJWs: Pay Them To Leave

The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has devised an interesting strategy for getting rid of crusading SJW employees, like the rebellious workers creating headaches for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for not being “woke” enough.

Pay them to leave.

Citing an internal email to employees, CNBC’s Kate Rooney reports that Armstrong offered employees severance packages of 4-6 months if they felt uncomfortable with the company’s policy of political neutrality in the workplace. In the note, Armstrong cited “internal strife” at companies like Facebook and Alphabet as a threat to “value” at Coinbase.

“While I think these efforts are well-intentioned, they have the potential to destroy a lot of value at most companies, both by being a distraction, and by creating internal division,” Armstrong said.

The announcement comes after Armstrong clarified the company’s stance on office activism, saying that he preferred employees left political discussions and activities to their off-hours.

For anybody who absolutely can’t tolerate this arrangement (or simply wants a few months of free pay, at the cost of losing their job in the middle of an economic downturn) the company is offering severance packages, so that anyone “who doesn’t feel comfortable with this new direction” can simply leave.

Pay packages will range between 4 to 6 months, depending on seniority of the employee. That’s not bad, but not great, as far as Silicon Valley exit packages go. But it’s certainly enough to last a skilled engineer until they land a new gig.

He finished with a positive spin: “Life is too short to work at a company that you aren’t excited about,” Armstrong said in the email, which was previously reported by The Block. “Hopefully this package helps create a win-win outcome for those who choose to opt out.”

As CNBC pointed out, the approach stands in stark contrast to the prevailing sentiment in Silicon Valley, which is to encourage employees to speak their mind, even when it might endanger the company’s bottom line.

Will Coinbase’s policy catch on? Or will they need to follow Peter Thiel and (maybe) Elon Musk out of the Bay Area.