Google DeepMind’s Pricey Strategy: Paying AI Talent to Sit Out the Competition

Business Insider recently revealed that Google’s DeepMind AI lab in the UK is using “garden leave” clauses to prevent outgoing employees from immediately joining rival companies. These contracts allow staff to resign but still receive their full salary while being legally prohibited from working — sometimes for up to a year.

This practice, while sounding like a vacation on paper, is actually causing frustration for many ex-employees. While they are technically being paid to “do nothing,” their careers are effectively put on pause — and in the AI world, where every week brings new breakthroughs, this can be a major setback.

A former DeepMind employee voiced this concern, saying, “Who wants to sign you for starting in a year? That’s forever in AI.” The AI field is known for its rapid pace of innovation, and a year away from development can mean missing out on major shifts in the industry.

Garden leave is more common in the United Kingdom, particularly among senior executives and high-level technical experts. It often goes hand-in-hand with noncompete clauses, which prohibit former employees from joining competitors or launching similar startups for a certain period of time. In contrast, these types of restrictions are facing increasing resistance in the United States, where lawmakers and regulators are pushing for such clauses to be outlawed entirely.

At the heart of this growing controversy is the question of fairness. While companies like Google argue that these contracts are necessary to protect proprietary knowledge and prevent intellectual property theft, critics believe they are a form of corporate control that limits innovation and suppresses individual opportunity.

One of those critics is Nando de Freitas, a former director at DeepMind who now works at Microsoft. In a fiery post on X (formerly Twitter), he warned others against signing such contracts. “Above all, don’t sign these contracts,” he wrote. “No American corporation should have that much power, especially in Europe. It’s abuse of power, which does not justify any end.”

Despite the pushback, companies continue to use these legal tools to retain control over the talent pipeline. DeepMind, known for its breakthroughs in AI systems and machine learning, is one of the most coveted places to work for AI researchers. That gives Google immense leverage — and it's not afraid to use it.

While this strategy may be effective in preventing brain drain in the short term, it could also discourage future talent from joining such firms if they feel their mobility and freedom are being restricted. In an industry built on innovation, risk-taking, and speed, that may become a long-term disadvantage.

As AI reshapes industries across the world, the battle to hire — and keep — the best minds is heating up. Whether garden leave becomes the norm or gets left behind with outdated HR policies may depend on how fiercely the public and policymakers respond.