Agreed, it's definitely coming from the top! I didn't realize they had closed a ton of the other offices during the pandemic, but I suppose it's not surprising either. It also seemed like a lot of remote hiring happened during the pandemic?

Most of the people I know personally affected are in that category (remotely hired or relocated), and most of those people are women. Small sample size with lots of bias, but I've been pretty upset the whole situation. It definitely feels/looks like a way to quietly push a bunch of folks out... whether overtly or as a "bonus" for upper management, it has the same unfortunate effect.

I guess it is what it is, but what it is ain't good. It feels good to commiserate though, thank you stranger!