Tech giant to spend $500m dealing with housing crisis caused by tech giants

Microsoft has revealed it is to spank the best part of $500m on attempting to deal with the lack of affordable housing in the Seattle area. The region has seen massive growth as tech companies moved in and the giants of the industry like, er, Microsoft, have expanded enormously. The effect of the boom has been to drive up …

[Anonymous Coward]

A simpler and more sensible option

Would be to distribute the workforce more widely. There's no way on earth Microsoft needs 42,000 employees concentrated in Seattle, and there's plenty of pleasant, cheaper locations would welcome a few thousand jobs.

Although we could take it as proof that Lync is shit, and Microsoft doesn't trust its own communication and collaboration tools.

[Geoffrey W]

Re: A simpler and more sensible option

Yes. Let's spread and share the unaffordable housing problem to more people and areas. Progress!!!

[ElRegoColombia]

25 years from now we'll be hearing about the microsoft lease hold scandal

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft housing

- too many windows than don't open or close correctly

- randomly stops you from getting in

- requires monthly maintenance that breaks as many things as it fixes

- insecure by design, allowing people to break in despite monthly changes to the locks

- looks fucking ugly, and when you do find a design feature you like, they take it away and replace with it with tiles that don't fit

[A. Coatsworth]

Re: Microsoft housing

Every now and then a handyman will enter without your permission, replace the kitchen sink with a rocking chair and, as a result of that, the lights in your living room will stop working.

[Sgt_Oddball]

Re: Microsoft housing

Could be worse... If it was Apple, it'd look nice but you'd need to change all of your appliance plugs to something newer and less well adopted.... Like the Australian plugs. And if any of the plumbing leaked you'd have to buy a whole new house.

[Geoffrey W]

Re: Microsoft housing

I suppose a Google house would have glass walls so they can see what you're up to and have random guys walk past your house with billboards and loud hailers; "I SEE YOU'RE TRYING TO SLEEP. HAVE YOU SEEN THESE ZzzQUIL LIQUID GEL CAPSULES? SPECIAL PRICE TODAY ONLY $54.99 FOR A BOX OF 10! HURRY HURRY! YOUR NEIGHBOURS CAN'T SLEEP EITHER SO THEY MIGHT NOT LAST."

[Spazturtle]

Clever idea to retain employees

Employees are going to have to think twice about looking for a new job if leaving Microsoft also means getting evicted and having to find a new place to live.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Clever idea to retain employees

They may not even need to look for new jobs for that. For example, in Madrid, Santander Bank built low(ish) priced housing for their staff around their main offices. Then, a few years later, they built new main offices on the other side of town and moved almost everyone there, leaving people with the option of a long commute (crossing central Madrid is not easy during rush hour...) or moving. Though selling their old homes might be problematic as the area was revolving around Santander's business.

[Trainee grumpy old ****]

Re: Clever idea to retain employees

The way I read the article, the funding is meant for housing people who are NOT in receipt of the sorts of salaries that Microsoft employees get.

[Paul 195]

Re: Clever idea to retain employees

@Trainee grumpy old ****

Yes, that was the way I read the article too. But since it is Microsoft, no amount of logic or facts will prevent those who think Microsoft is the embodiment of wickedness from dumping all over it.

[SoaG]

Caused by tech giants? No.

Caused by NIMBYs pushing local governments to refuse building permits.

[wayward4now]

Kansas is nice

...just move there, they would love to have tech giants move there. Simple. Just not the "North East". Barry Goldwater got it right ...just tow the North East US out to sea to solve the majority of our problems. Today add the West Coast too.

[Francis Boyle]

We all know they have the same (worse?) problem in SF

Google?