Boss cuts employee's salary by $50K to be more aligned with industry standards: 'What is wrong with companies?'

He needs to get out of there as soon as he can.

It can be hard to know when you're underpaid. A lot of people claim to be underpaid, even when their salary is pretty standard for their industry and experience level. Most employees don't have access to their company's books, so they have no way of knowing whether they're making more than their coworkers or whether their bosses and managers are bringing home the big bucks while they get pennies. 

Sometimes you can tell you're underpaid because you're doing the jobs of multiple people. If you're working the equivalent of three different positions, and you're only getting paid for one of them, you're getting underpaid, no matter how your boss wants to swing it. If your workload doesn't reflect your title, there's a good chance you're getting underpaid.

It can be borderline impossible to get a raise when you've been working like a dog for years and have shown your boss that you're willing to put up with bad working conditions long-term. They might just get rid of you and replace you with someone else who is willing to tolerate low pay because they feel like they have nowhere else to go. 

It's pretty obvious that the employer in this story is trying to run their employee out of the company without firing him. They gave him a $50K pay cut, claiming it's because they've been paying above industry standards. He doesn't know exactly how to proceed with this job, but the answer is incredibly clear. He's gotta get out of there.