SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#1

Post by berbec » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 12:43 AM UTC

SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce
latimes.com

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#2

Post by Rebelgecko » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 12:59 AM UTC

Sounds like 90% of their employees will be working an extra 10% more hours per week

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#3

Post by bredren » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 12:59 AM UTC

It is a good thing SpaceX has kept private. This is a category that does not seem like the company would be better off public.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#4

Post by Others » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:00 AM UTC

Is this a bad sign for SpaceX? Is ‘getting leaner’ why they’re really doing this?

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#5

Post by mpg33 » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:00 AM UTC

Had no idea they had 6000 employees..

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#6

Post by whatshisface » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:01 AM UTC

10% is a big fraction. How often do large, stable companies execute a layoff like that? Sometimes layoffs can be not so bad, for example when that's the company's way of clearing off the managers' firing wishlist without incurring legal trouble. However at 10% of the workforce, this may be a change of direction away from R&D and towards sitting on the falcon 9 and launching to LEO.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#7

Post by aesopsfable » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:02 AM UTC

Others wrote: post #4

Is this a bad sign for SpaceX? Is ‘getting leaner’ why they’re really doing this?

it definitely feels like a bad (possibly financial) sign when it is about laying off some percent of workforce vs closing down a division...

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#8

Post by arthurcolle » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:03 AM UTC

mpg33 wrote: post #5

Had no idea they had 6000 employees..

The article cites "at least 7,000" actually.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#9

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:04 AM UTC

whatshisface wrote: post #6

10% is a big fraction. How often do large, stable companies execute a layoff like that? Sometimes layoffs can be not so bad, for example when that's the company's way of clearing off the managers' firing wishlist without incurring legal trouble. However at 10% of the workforce, this may be a change of direction away from R&D and towards sitting on the falcon 9 and launching to LEO.

[deleted]

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#10

Post by technotony » Sat, Jan 12, 2019, 1:04 AM UTC

Some think you should do this annually. "Back when he was running GE, Jack Welch famously argued that leaders should fire the bottom 10 percent of their workforce each year, as part of an orderly continuous improvement process." https://www.inc.com/paul-b-brown/should-you-fire-10-of-your-...