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SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

latimes.com

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Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#51
post #27

According to some comments from employees, the company had an all-hands meeting where everyone was sent home and told to check their email over the weekend to find out if they're being laid off or not: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/af1n7f/spacex_will_...

Whatever the reasons for the workforce reduction, this way of doing it is just unnecessarily cruel.

What's less cruel? Face to face meetings? Layoffs suck, how is this particularly egregious?

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#52
post #27

According to some comments from employees, the company had an all-hands meeting where everyone was sent home and told to check their email over the weekend to find out if they're being laid off or not: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/af1n7f/spacex_will_...

Whatever the reasons for the workforce reduction, this way of doing it is just unnecessarily cruel.

From what I've read about Musk, doing it this way is part of his management style. People's feelings come second to getting things done efficiently. Well, efficiently as he sees it.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#53
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is the less cruel way to lay off 10% of your workforce

Well, rather than a "Don't come Monday" email on a weekend, which effectively gives them 0 working days notice, giving those employees say, 2 weeks notice that they will be terminated at least gives them a chance to re-train for another position or get their resumes together to try and find another job while still getting an income to pay for rent, food etc. FAR less 'cruel' to give them an opportunity to plan their…

This rarely happens because of liability and security. It’s pretty common to be walked out by security after packing up your stuff when you are laid off.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#54
post #43

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

and 5% of them will quit in the next 2 months

That's usually what happens basically everywhere. I 'survived' multiple rounds of layoffs and they always touch stuff that's deemed 'unnecessary' but needs to be kept alive and thus adding to the workload of already overworked employees.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#55
post #16

They've proven that they can make reusable rocket. In the early days they had around 6 launches per year requiring six separate rockets. Now they're hitting 20-25 launches per year and can carry an even larger payload on each launch. But they claim to be able to fly each rocket ten times before needing to make a new one. So you're going from 6 new rockets per year to 2 new rockets per year. Also rockets are not like…

Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design:

  39. (alternate formulation) The three keys to keeping
       a new human space program affordable and on schedule:
       1)  No new launch vehicles.
       2)  No new launch vehicles.
       3)  Whatever you do, don't develop any new launch vehicles.
I'll admit it does say human space program but it doesn't specify where the humans are.

https://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/akins_laws.html

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#56
post #27

According to some comments from employees, the company had an all-hands meeting where everyone was sent home and told to check their email over the weekend to find out if they're being laid off or not: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/af1n7f/spacex_will_...

Wonderful, all hail Elon, the next Howard Hughes.

Seriously, can modern CEOs actually grow a pair and actually face their employees rather than hide behind tech?

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#57
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever the reasons for the workforce reduction, this way of doing it is just unnecessarily cruel.

What's less cruel? Face to face meetings? Layoffs suck, how is this particularly egregious?

Seriously, if you cannot see that "fire by email" is far more impersonal and disconnecting than compassionately meeting with the employee 1 on 1 and giving them a definitive exit path along with the financial support to do so, then please do not ever work in HR or be responsible for employing people in the future.

To subject ALL your employees to the 50/50 prospect that they will have a job come next working day is tantamount to playing Russian Roulette with them using a gun with a 2 bullet chamber - one loaded. The psychological toll even on the 'survivors' will be brutal.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#58
post #27

According to some comments from employees, the company had an all-hands meeting where everyone was sent home and told to check their email over the weekend to find out if they're being laid off or not: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/af1n7f/spacex_will_...

That's brutal. Back around 2008 my OpCo laid off employees for the first time in it's hundredish year history at the time when our current owner laid off people from every OpCo.

It was almost as savage, they went around the office of 70-80 people and grabbed some people at what seemed like random, took them in one door of the conference room and asked them what personal belongings they needed immediately, got those items and had corporate security see them off the property with their severance information. At least that wasn't "go home and worry all weekend" though.

Great way to sabotage company-wide morale SpaceX.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#59
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is the less cruel way to lay off 10% of your workforce

Well, rather than a "Don't come Monday" email on a weekend, which effectively gives them 0 working days notice, giving those employees say, 2 weeks notice that they will be terminated at least gives them a chance to re-train for another position or get their resumes together to try and find another job while still getting an income to pay for rent, food etc. FAR less 'cruel' to give them an opportunity to plan their…

From the article: "SpaceX is offering a minimum of eight weeks’ pay and other benefits to laid-off workers, according to Shotwell’s email. The company will also provide assistance with career coaching, resume help and job searches."

So SpaceX is giving employees two months to focus their full efforts on finding their next job. This seems less cruel than telling them they will lose their jobs and then expecting them to keep working.

Re: SpaceX to lay off 10% of Workforce

#60
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is the less cruel way to lay off 10% of your workforce

Well, rather than a "Don't come Monday" email on a weekend, which effectively gives them 0 working days notice, giving those employees say, 2 weeks notice that they will be terminated at least gives them a chance to re-train for another position or get their resumes together to try and find another job while still getting an income to pay for rent, food etc. FAR less 'cruel' to give them an opportunity to plan their…

They already get 8 weeks severance. Keeping them around for 2 weeks to mope doesn’t help anything.
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