Grindr workers pushed out are fighting to get their jobs back

UPDATED (July 2, 2025)

Almost two years after 82 out of Grindr's 178 employees — 46 percent of the staff — were let go after refusing a return-to-office mandate, Grindr United, the union of workers for the company, announced it is still fighting for those members pushed out to regain their jobs. The union began a fundraising campaign to support employees still out of work.

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In 2023, Grindr mandated that workers hired remotely during the pandemic must return to an office in one of five "hub" cities. Any Grindr employees who did not live close to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, or Washington, D.C., were required to move. Those workers who refused the mandate to move were let go. A spokesperson for Grindr disputes that those employees were laid off.

"The employees who departed in 2023 were not laid off. While some employees chose to depart and take severance packages following the announcement of Grindr's two-days-per-week hybrid work model, many employees chose to stay. Of note, the company also offered generous relocation packages to those who needed to relocate to comply with the hybrid work model," the spokesperson wrote in a statement to Out.

The return-to-office policy in hub cities occurred in response to workers attempting to unionize, the Communications Workers of America asserted in 2023.

“Rather than recognize the union, the company issued a new return-to-office policy requiring staff to relocate or quit,” the CWA said.

An update from Grindr United members on the continued fight released in late June was stylized as a conversation between two Grindr users.

The mockup of back-and-forth Grindr DMs delivers new details. Namely, that "Grindr workers tried to unionize so we could have a seat at the table and fight for an app that serves our community. Management forced us out, and now we are 18 months into a legal process to get our jobs back."

The statement ends with the union writing, "If you can, we're fundraising for those of us still without work."

Grindr, a social network and app often used for hooking up and dating among queer people, has faced a slew of criticisms after George Arison, a gay businessman, took over as CEO in September 2022. Since then, the company's leader has been the subject of controversy after past X posts (formerly tweets) came to the surface and reportedly showed him potentially agreeing with some of Trump's policies, as well as voicing support for an anti-LGBTQ+ Virginia governor, were unearthed.

In October 2022 — right as the company was preparing to go public on the stock market — X posts (tweets) from Arison's past about conservative politicians were unearthed. In 2020, he reportedly shared posts identifying himself as a conservative, and even "agrees with some of Trump's policies." Reports also include Arison showing support for a conservative politician who was targeting rights for LGBTQ+ kids.

After those X posts were made public, Grindr shared a statement to Timethat read, "George is an out gay man, proudly married to his husband and the father of two children. George is passionate about fighting for the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people around the world."

Arison navigated the negative press in a way that left him relatively unscathed, but also implemented a rigorous use of AI and boasted about running a "super lean company" with a "high revenue per head" on a podcast called 20VC (included below).

Arison has discussed a push toward AI, reasoning that he expects that start-ups can get off the ground with "much less" employees than previously needed thanks to the help of "synthetic employees."

Out reached out to Grindr United for comment, but has not heard back.