Huge salaries reportedly led staffers to leave Alphabet’s car project

The vehicle project at Google-parent Alphabet paid some workers a lot that they developed a nest egg and dropped the company, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Some veteran staffers were paid a lot that ultimately they didn’t require the job security any longer, people knowledgeable about the matter with the circumstance informed Bloomberg in a report published this week. The often multimillion-dollar paychecks were part of an uncommon compensation system that began in 2010 and included performance-based compensation, rewards and equity.

Some even regarded the payouts “F-you money,” Bloomberg reported. Google refused to comment on the report.

The self-driving vehicle project, now called Waymo, has since received a more consistent pay structure, a source informed.

Over the past year, Alphabet has cut some of the other bets, leading some analysts to question the company on whether it was shedding its key skill in the process. For example, self-driving truck start-up Otto, acquired by Uber, was established by ex-Googlers.