Grindr, the popular queer dating app, has undergone a significant staff reduction, with nearly half of its workforce departing following the termination of its remote work policy.

On August 4th, Grindr introduced a return-to-office mandate, offering employees two choices: either move to one of the newly designated “hub” cities, such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Washington, DC, to work in person twice a week with their teams, or leave the company with severance. This decision was met with mixed reactions.

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Out of Grindr’s 178 employees, approximately 80 opted not to relocate, resulting in their resignation. This move followed the launch of a union campaign in July by around 100 Grindr employees who sought to protect their fellow workers amidst the industry-wide layoffs in the tech sector.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) criticized Grindr’s response, stating, “Rather than recognize the union, the company issued a new return-to-office policy requiring staff to relocate or quit.” The CWA has taken legal action against Grindr by filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, signaling its commitment to stand up to the tech company.

What do Grindr staff say?

Erick Cortez, a Knowledge Specialist and member of Grindr United-CWA, expressed disappointment, stating that it was “unimaginably disappointing that dozens of their colleagues had to leave their jobs because Grindr management did not want to sit down with workers and respect their right to organize.”

He mentioned that Grindr had chosen to establish itself as union-busters by hiring Littler Mendelson, enforcing a retaliatory RTO mandate, and silencing workers through unlawful severance agreements. Cortez observed that these decisions had left Grindr dangerously understaffed and had raised questions about the safety, security, and stability of the app for users.

He concluded that the organization aimed to silence workers. They also deterred them from exercising their right to organize, regardless of the expense.