If PwC was in the midst of a contentious legal battle over an acquisition by a famous CEO-turned-troll-turned-caricature and was also famous for their high pay, then it would be. You know this.

NYT runs this content because leaks about the inner-workings of elite institutions get clicks.

In this case it incites resentment in folks who don't get fat annual bonuses and RSUs because they don't work for a FAANG, making the BigCo employees appear like over-privileged whiners.

I live in SV and have friends in NYC. The sense we get is that NYers, and especially those in NY media, take some joy in negative news about SV. It could be because Wall Street (and NY law/consulting/ad firms) used to be the most-coveted jobs for high-performing young people, and then SV rose up as an uber-desirable career destination.

Of course we do (real people, not the media). Not defending snobbery or anything but SV costs NYC rent for someplace that's.. definitely not NYC.

Lame-os who are primarily interested in the most-coveted jobs might be motivated by what you're saying but there's a lot more to NYC than that.

Interesting point about rents — perhaps NYers should be celebrating SV's success because it pulls away some of the high-earners who would have driven up NYC rents even further?

Perhaps, I don't know, my biases and schadenfreude aren't that sophisticated.