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Buffer Layoffs

open.buffer.com

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Re: Buffer Layoffs

#71

Post by hopsoft »

compiler-guy wrote: post #36

This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…

> Don't confuse your job with your family.

Reminds me of this terrific article from David Brady. https://heartmindcode.com/2013/08/16/loyalty-and-layoffs/

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#72

Post by adwf »

Ouch. Never a pleasant thing to do.

I just hope they made the cut deep enough. A common mistake is to cut enough to just get back to break even, when what you really need in that situation is to get back to a decent level of profitability. The number of times I've seen a second round of layoffs because people got that wrong...

From the looks of their projections, they've done the right thing, back to profitability and growth.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#73

Post by antisthenes »

compiler-guy wrote: post #36

This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…

Not only is it not cynical, but should be taught to every college student, regardless of major and specialization in their general business elective class.

There is very little overlap between a family (or even a friendship) and a business (unless the business is mandated by law to provide benefits similar to what a family does - which it usually isn't)

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#74

Post by jes »

harryh wrote: post #60
jes wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say no relationships, including family relationships, should be maintained if they aren't in the long-term self-interest of all parties. In other words, every relationship is a trading relationship, and the currency of the realm isn't always, or even often, monetary in nature.

How many times do I have to get annoyed at my kid for waking up in the middle of the night before you're OK with me kicking him out of the house? Keep in mind that he is currently 11 months old...

Kicking your child out of the house for doing what a child does is not in your long-term self interest or his.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#75

Post by terrywilcox »

dahdum wrote: post #61
compiler-guy wrote: post #36

This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…

"Buffer may have thought it was different, but that flow-chart of how they decided who to layoff was entirely about how an employee can help the company, not how the layoff would affect the employee." I read that chart differently, they are retaining their longest tenure staff in each area without regard for ability. Seems a lot more "family" like to me.

If I kept my longest tenure family members and laid off the new ones, my kid would be pretty unimpressed. Family does not work that way.

The term you're looking for is "buddies".

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#76

Post by beachy »

btilly wrote: post #26
minimaxir wrote: post #2

While Buffer's transparency is incredible, the financial calculations in the article fail to account for the possibility of an employee exodus domino effect, especially after both knowing the financial state of the company, and relevant perks being cut.

Machiavelli's _The Prince_ has excellent advice on this topic. If you must do bad things, do them all at once. Then create a steady stream of better than expected events. People will get over the shock of the bad, and will remember the good. By contrast if you try to hold back some of the bad, it will drip out bit by bit. Then people will get scared about where the real bottom is.

Such a great book.

I've seen his tactics play our over and over again during my working lifetime.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#79

Post by terrywilcox »

jes wrote: post #52
compiler-guy wrote: post #36

This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…

I'd say no relationships, including family relationships, should be maintained if they aren't in the long-term self-interest of all parties. In other words, every relationship is a trading relationship, and the currency of the realm isn't always, or even often, monetary in nature.

I recommend not having children if you're only keeping them as long as it serves your self interest.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#80

Post by [deleted] »

Declanomous wrote: post #63
danso wrote: post #7

FWIW, here's their public spreadsheet of salaries and calculations. Not sure if it's been recently updated (on closer look, seems to reflect the founders' stated pay cuts, and new hires as recent as last month): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l3bXAv8JE5RB9siMq36-... edit: Adding links to their blog posts: https://open.buffer.com/transparent-salaries/ https://open.buffer.com/introducing-open-salaries-at-buffe…

Well, I am apparently massively underpaid. And I have to commute to work. Lose-lose.

[deleted]
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