In a plot twist that sounds more like a Silicon Valley sitcom than a real-world HR policy, Google is reportedly paying some of its AI engineers to sit on the sidelines for an entire year. According to a Business Insider report, four former DeepMind employees revealed that staffers in the UK have been put on an “extended garden leave” because of their strict noncompete agreements.
In simpler terms, these ex-employees have technically left the company, but Google is still cutting them a paycheck for 12 months on the condition that they don’t work for or share their subject expertise with any other organisations.
Noncompete clauses are a standard feature in employment contracts, especially in tech. They are meant to protect company secrets and ensure employees don’t jump ship with proprietary knowledge. But these clauses vary based on seniority and strategic importance. According to the report, while six-month noncompetes are the norm at DeepMind, two of the four former employees said some engineers tied to the company’s Gemini AI project are benched for a full year.
While some might envy the paid time off, not everyone’s thrilled. As one former engineer put it, “a year is forever in the world of AI”, the Business Insider reported.
Google, meanwhile, insists it’s playing by the rules. The tech-giant told Business Insider that its contracts are “in line with market standards”. But not everyone agrees, with some DeepMind veterans describing the policy as overly restrictive.
This revelation comes as tech giants like Google, Meta and Microsoft are making headlines for mass layoffs. As many as 8,500 tech workers were shown the door in March alone. And while industry leaders like Sam Altman and Jensen Huang suggest AI might eventually do most jobs better than humans, at least for now, some AI engineers are still being paid handsomely…to do absolutely nothing.