Summary:
Cognition lays off 30 employees and offers buyouts to 200 Windsurf staff post-acquisition
Windsurf employees face 80+ hour workweeks and six-day office weeks if they choose to stay
The acquisition highlights Cognition's focus on Windsurf's IP over its talent
Employees have until August 10 to decide on the buyout offer of nine months' salary
Cognition's CEO Scott Wu dismisses work-life balance, emphasizing mission over personal time
Cognition, the AI coding startup that recently acquired rival Windsurf, has made headlines again by laying off 30 employees and offering buyouts to the remaining 200 staff members. This move comes just three weeks after the acquisition, signaling a tumultuous period for Windsurf employees.
The Windsurf Saga
Windsurf's journey has been anything but smooth. Initially on the brink of being acquired by OpenAI, the startup saw its CEO, co-founder, and research leads depart to Google in a $2.4 billion reverse-acquihire deal. The eventual acquisition by Cognition seemed like a new beginning, but the latest developments suggest otherwise.
The Buyout Offer
Employees have until August 10 to decide on the buyout, which offers nine months of salary. Those who stay face draconian conditions: six days a week in the office and 80+ hour workweeks. Cognition's CEO, Scott Wu, justified these demands by stating, "We don’t believe in work-life balance—building the future of software engineering is a mission we all care so deeply about that we couldn’t possibly separate the two."
The Real Motive Behind the Acquisition
It's becoming clear that Cognition's interest lay more in Windsurf's intellectual property than its talent. This revelation raises questions about the true intentions behind the acquisition and the future of the remaining Windsurf employees under Cognition's leadership.
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