Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

seattletimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 152 posts

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#131

Post by sah2ed »

dogma1138 wrote: post #92
sah2ed wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have links to back up your claim? Palm's first touch screen smartphone effort was released in 2009 [0]. Not that it matters considering the original discussion was Google vs Apple. Anyway, PDAs were a different device category from smartphones and many of them required a stylus for input like the HP iPAQ which ran Windows Pocket PC. IIRC, the iPhone keynote talked about how they did away with the stylus becaus…

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

Your link doesn't disprove my point. Did the LG Prada run Windows Mobile/Phone, Palm webOS or any mainstream OS for smartphones?

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#132

Post by bayofpigs »

gnahckire wrote: post #86
davidw wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got one today too. Put on a Gore tex coat and stood under the shower, on cold, for a half an hour, and decided that Seattle is probably not to my liking outside of, say, late July.

I know you're joking but it's actually not even raining today in Seattle. In fact, it's irritatingly bright (it's sunny). I prefer the overcast & rainy unless it's summer/spring. :(

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a civil engineer during a coffee break:

Me: Nice day today.

Engineer: Yeah I know. I hate it.

Me: You hate when it's sunny?

Engineer: Yeah, I am unhappy and miserable so when it's overcast and rainy everyone gets to feel like me.

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#133

Post by angstrom »

sharemywin wrote: post #11
gargarplex wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Voice search is already huge and I imagine it may be even bigger. I see Amazon as a threat to Google in this area.

I could see these devices given way free as some kind of set-top+assistant if you buy our TV service.

Heck, I've had power companies offering google home for free if I select a green energy provider.

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#134

Post by KKKKkkkk1 »

tyingq wrote: post #109

A layoff of any kind or scale is interesting for AMZN, given that they have so much diversity of teams, jobs, skills, products, etc. It's interesting that they couldn't repurpose a few hundred people, even given their infamous up or out mentality. Sounds like they are knowingly giving up good people since the current culture fires anyone that doesn't produce already. Willingly giving up good people doesn't seem like…

It's a super healthy signal.

Let's say hypothetically that Amazon started a VR project and hired a team of 100 PhDs whose expertise is VR to work on that project. After 2 years, the company realized that it's not working out and shut that project down.

Because of the bad optics of layoffs (especially of such highly skilled engineers), the engineers were reassigned to various positions that require expertise in computer graphics. Bear in mind that these 100 engineers have niche skills and most of them feel that VR is their life's calling; they're not interested in generic computer graphics. They are overpaid, underemployed, and miserable.

The best of them leave after a month of two; the remainder trudges on for a year until they also leave or get pushed out. The outcome is that Amazon has wasted shareholder money and got themselves a bad rep with those engineers (and their friends). A straight layoff would have worked much better, but unfortunately most companies don't have the balls for it.

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#135

Post by lsc »

jobu wrote: post #55
everdev wrote: post #34

I've always wondered how companies like Amazon and Apple with piles of cash justify not giving raises or passing laying off people. I understand that you want to be smart with your money but if I'm on the business end of this decision it probably hurts more than getting laid off from a company that's struggling and has no other options.

Laying off people is just a tool to get rid of low performers and cut costs. From the article: "A manager in one unit making cuts said his team was briefed that Bezos and the Amazon brass wanted to put more pressure on managers to weed out lower performers and enforce spending discipline after the rapid growth of recent years." Layoffs seem kinda shitty, but it's usually better than firing with cause. The worker will…

From watching friends, for higher end jobs? you are almost never terminated 'with cause' - I don't know even one programmer who got fired from a fully paid programming job (I mean, a job paying six figures, not a "shadow IT" gig.) who has gotten fired in a way they couldn't collect unemployment insurance, even after a PIP.

For low end jobs, retail and the like? it's pretty common to be fired 'with cause.' even for small things that I do twice a week, like being late or something.

I suspect that it's because employers only pay unemployment insurance on the first $7K or so of wages they pay an employee in a year, so while an increase in their unemployment insurance rate matters if they are paying retail rates, it really doesn't if they are paying programmer rates.

The funny thing is that I don't think any of my programmer friends would fight it either way; it's not worth the effort. But friends working retail? yeah, sometimes it makes sense to fight it... and their employer actually gets up in court, and argues why this person they paid almost nothing and then fired shouldn't get what amounts to a pittance.

The whole thing seems kind of unfair and messed up.

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#136

Post by watwut »

KKKKkkkk1 wrote: post #134
tyingq wrote: post #109

A layoff of any kind or scale is interesting for AMZN, given that they have so much diversity of teams, jobs, skills, products, etc. It's interesting that they couldn't repurpose a few hundred people, even given their infamous up or out mentality. Sounds like they are knowingly giving up good people since the current culture fires anyone that doesn't produce already. Willingly giving up good people doesn't seem like…

It's a super healthy signal. Let's say hypothetically that Amazon started a VR project and hired a team of 100 PhDs whose expertise is VR to work on that project. After 2 years, the company realized that it's not working out and shut that project down. Because of the bad optics of layoffs (especially of such highly skilled engineers), the engineers were reassigned to various positions that require expertise in comput…

> Bear in mind that these 100 engineers have niche skills and most of them feel that VR is their life's calling; they're not interested in generic computer graphics. They are overpaid, underemployed, and miserable.

Except that you just made all that up. It is a huge major if. Especially that part about calling and the part about them having only niche skills.

Guess what those "best ones who leave" will do? You guessed right, they will do not VR.

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#138

Post by angstrom »

pinewurst wrote: post #75
Cyranix wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the "talent pool exhaustion" idea: it's common knowledge that almost no one goes to Amazon with the intent of staying there long-term. From what I gather, they're still grappling with people staying just long enough to get a healthy chunk of material benefits before moving on to work that they actually might _want_ to do (helped by having Amazon listed on their resume).

Amazon's reputation as a caring, paternalistic employer is also very well known in the Seattle area. Most of their new employees are imports for that reason, brought in ignorant and tethered by relocation expenses.

Bingo.

1st the Lure: bonu$ with first month check + $10K+ in relo

2nd the Hook: 6 month blushing period

3rd the Sinker: layoff old team, give threatening overtures and about lost trust and missed deliveries

Meanwhile everyone is in a 12-month lease, certainly spent the relocation, and definitely not in the mood to relocate again. Anyone that dipped into that bonus is really hooked, anyone that didn't is annoyed at the thought of giving up their signing bonus to cover relocation which would make the whole venture a wash.

So yeah, the further away from Seattle recruits are from the better. Luckily Seattle's geographic location enhances this. Ironically, an east coast HQ2 would probably weaken this trapping mechanism for all but foreign labor who are verily fucked no matter what thanks to visa,H1B,L1 fun.

Re: Amazon laying off corporate employees in rare cutback

#139

Post by dawnerd »

davidw wrote: post #81
qubex wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve only ever visited Seattle in the second half of July and found it to be stellar.

The PNW west of the Cascades is glorious in summer. Blue skies, clean air, no humidity, warm temperatures but not too warm. But the long, drizzly, gray winters are hell for those of us who like sunlight. If you want to move to the area, visit in November or March or something to get an idea of what it's really like.

Im in Beaverton and you nailed it. Although last summer was pretty hot its still not bad. PNW is just amazing. Guess it takes a certain someone who can deal with the rain and bad drivers that go along with it for the rest of the year.
Post reply on HN