Anthropic, a trillion-dollar AI company, recently posted a job listing with a baseline salary of $65,000 to $85,000, sparking public outrage in San Francisco. The city’s rental and real estate market is experiencing a surge, with Anthropic employees poised to become multi-millionaires after the company’s initial public offering.

Affordability Crisis

The average rent for a studio apartment in San Francisco is $2,595, making it difficult for individuals to survive on the proposed salary. Jacob Boysen, a Bay Area genome engineer and data scientist, expressed his disappointment on X, stating that the company should be embarrassed for offering such a low salary, especially considering its trillion-dollar valuation.

Some have suggested that the applicant could ask about stock options, as the job posting mentions “competitive compensation and benefits, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, flexible working hours, and a lovely office space in which to collaborate with colleagues.” However, Anthropic declined to comment on the job posting when contacted by Mission Local.

Legislative Response

San Francisco supervisors are exploring proposals to address the city’s affordability crisis. District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey is considering a proposal to empower the city’s rent board to offer tenant assistance in the event of illegal rent hikes exceeding the state’s 5% annual cap. District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar is working on legislation to tighten the definition of a “bad faith eviction” in the city’s rent ordinance, which would help combat exaggerated nuisance complaints used by landlords to evict tenants.

Original reporting: Mission Local — read the source article.