[lovatsofa]

Good question. No, the same restrictions do not apply to my colleagues, though they are technically part of a different "team"—emphasis on the quotes. The work we do is largely identical. Do you think the disparity in treatment, despite the similarity in roles, suggests that the restriction is less about the actual work being done and more about other, unstated factors specific to my situation?

[alephnerd]

Do the same policies applied on you apply to other QEs in your org?

Who does a QE like you report to - the same EM as for SWEs or a separate Manager for QE?

At first glance, I'd assume they most likely want to restrict code access only to those who directly make code changes. This is a common hardening tactic after Snowflake's meltdown due to QEs in Ukraine getting hacked, and then moving laterally into customer environments.

[csomar]

Start looking for a new job.

[justinclift]

Oh crap. Placing those restrictions just on yourself is an incredibly bad sign for any kind of ongoing employment there.

It's likely they have some processes working their way through their system(s) now to terminate you. :(

Might be a good idea to contact your own legal counsel, and/or an employment law specialist, (etc) and definitely start heavily looking for employment elsewhere (depending on your savings and personal runway).

[oxwave]

Is the legal council for help with severance negotiations or do you think they might need it for other reasons? I agree with justinclift that it sounds like you're on the chopping block.