I'm surprised there was no contract signed before relocation. I'm not sure I would relocate internationally without a signed contract. In fact I never remember quitting a job without a signed contract for a new one,but perhaps I was lucky having to deal with pretty good companies.

The problem here is that the "contract" aka. offer has no penalties for termination. Generally people agree to these terms because they are favorable in other ways such as extra compensation, or simply because they don't perceive the terms as negotiable (probably true).

If companies get a reputation for screwing people, then this will change. I once worked at a firm that would obsess over the fine-print of a contract to make sure that we weren't in breach as they messed with their partner. Needless to say, I didn't work at this firm long - and the firm didn't last long. Contracts are only as good as the trust you have in the other party.

> I suspect we'll soon see breakup clauses in job offers for senior hires, or direct regulation requiring the company to pay at least X weeks compensation if they break the offer.

I don't suspect this at all. What about candidates simply ghosting on join date. That would be regulated too?

Obviously not, because candidates are generally in a worse position than the company they are interviewing to. There's nothing to balance here, regulation must hit corporations and protect employees.

what worse position. Pretty sure the engineers quoted in the article will do just fine. Why does govt need to 'hit corporations' for privileged FB employees making 500k/yr+

That's because Facebook doesn't just employ privileged engineers making big money, but an army of staff that won't do just fine if their employer fucks them over. Neither you, nor me, and certainly no public service officer can draw the line. That's why the government should force businesses to treat all employees with a modicum of respect, and prevent corporations from doing stuff like Facebook did here.

If FaceBook does it, then the shady startup offering "30k + fake options" to new employees can do it too. FaceBook is setting an awful precedent.

They would have been privileged FB employees. But with the offer cancelled maybe they are not so privileged anymore? They could be new grads that never were on the gravy train.