AI startup that doesn't believe in work-life balance issues ultimatum: Be ready to work weekends and late nights or quit now

AI coding startup Cognition, which bought Windsurf almost a month ago, has issued an ultimatum to the 200 people at the company, telling them either agree to working 80 hours a week, or take a buyout and quit now. The company is in no mood to play ball with the trend of work-life balance, admitting that it doesn't believe in the concept. Cognition had already removed 30 employees from the Windsurf team last week. The Information has gained access to an email sent to the remaining staff members, who must decide between working weekends and long hours or taking a buyout with a nine-month salary. They need to decide by August 10, as per the outlet. Cognition CEO Scott Wu wrote in an email, "We don't believe in work-life balance — building the future of software engineering is a mission we all care so deeply about that we couldn't possibly separate the two." Wu is extremely clear that at Cognition, work is the topmost priority, and everyone who joins the company is delivered the message loud and clear at the outset. Also Read: 'An apple a day...': A Swedish company gives 30-minute masturbation break to its staff. Here's why

Wu says everyone at Cognition works late and weekends

Wu also posted a message on X on Tuesday, stating that Cognition “has an extreme performance culture”. Working weekends and late into the night is the norm at the company, something they do not hide. Hiring is also done with all the cards on the table, and applicants are aware of how things work at Cognition. Wu wrote, "We routinely are at the office through the weekend and do some of our best work late into the night." He added that most of the staff literally live at work, and "we understand it's not for everyone." Current market norms suggest that most buyouts start at four weeks, with an additional week for each year the employee has been at the company. Cognition is clear about its demands and is offering a higher buyout because of it. Also Read: Tesla gives $30bn of shares to Elon Musk after he threatens to leave

Windsurf boasts of an AI code editor that it says is the "most powerful way to code with AI" and is reportedly used by over a million people globally. Cognition also claims a breakthrough in AI, stating that it has built the first AI software engineer that can work independently and use Slack and GitHub to engage with users. The startup became a unicorn following a funding round earlier this year, which increased its valuation to $4 billion. Meanwhile, Windsurf went through turbulent times, as acquisition deals fell apart. First, it was in talks with OpenAI for a $3 billion acquisition. However, the deal didn't reach fruition, after which Google stepped in. It agreed to a $2.4 billion deal for nonexclusive licensing rights to Windsurf's technology. CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen and a few others joined Google.