Meaning of confusing phrase - "for as long"

Question

I found this in an article on Quora:

What are some disadvantages for companies located in Silicon Valley?

1-Distraction by all the other startups/silicon valley media
2-Risk of top employees leaving to join or start another startup; this makes it harder to invest in developing people because on average they won't be around for as long.

I was confused by this part: “this make it harder to invest in developing people because on average they won't be around for as long“?

Specifically, “Won’t be around for as long” confuses me. Is “for so long” a variation of “for as long”?

Answer 1

In the phrase

this makes it harder to invest in developing people because on average they won't be around for as long.

the term as indicates a comparison. So what's the comparison that the author is intending? It's the hypothetical amount of time that people would stay at a the same company if it were not in Silicon Valley. The author may also be referring specifically to the people who have been developed to be top employees.

Alternatively, the author might have written

The risk of top employees leaving to join or start another startup makes it harder to invest in developing people because on average they won't be around for long.

Here, the comparison remains (i.e., we have to know that the context is hiring people in Silicon Valley vs. hiring people somewhere else) but is implicit.