Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce • Hacker News Board

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#821

Post by playing_colours » Wed, May 06, 2020, 9:43 AM UTC

joyj2nd wrote: post #761

virtualritz wrote: post #676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pardon my frankness but that's BS. What are you referring to here? How much money buys you? Aka: costs of living? How much you make, converting EUR to USD? What industry? IT? I worked in a leadership position at a multi-national in Berlin for almost five years. I know the salaries the engineers had in CA & Chicago vs Germany. US was maybe 20% more max. In terms of what it buys you ... not so much. See below. Cost of…

Sorry to break the news for you, but German salaries are 50% of US salaries (US salaries may vary by location). My first offer on the cost as my first job was 160k USD. In Germany they were backing out in Munich if I asked for 60k EUR. "Cost of living in Munich (one of Germany's most expensive cities) vs. SF.[1] And then Berlin (one of Germany's cheapest cities) vs. SF.[2]" I think these numbers are outdated. Especia…

Berlin rental costs are capped by law from some time ago, and the numbers are actual.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#822

Post by kharak » Wed, May 06, 2020, 9:44 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #819

kharak wrote: post #815

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not a proof for the question. You seem invested in your believes and either don't know or care about scientific evidence to back them up. There is nothing more to gain here, have a good day.

Valuations, revenues, and revolutionary products are quite real. What would be proof of the contrary? What form of proof are you even looking for?

What is missing is a causal link between lesser employee rights and those values.

I could claim that the historic position of the USA after WW2 caused all of these. My claim would be as baseless as yours. A good starting point for research, but nothing more.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#823

Post by gigatexal » Wed, May 06, 2020, 9:51 AM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #10

Separated employees will receive 14 weeks of pay, and one more week for each year served at the company (rounding partial years up). The firm is also dropping its one-year equity cliff so that employees who are laid off with under 12 months of tenure can buy their vested options; Airbnb will also provide 12 months of health insurance through COBRA in the United States, and health care coverage through 2020 in the res…

Yeah that’s what I thought as well. The health insurance part is even more profound than the weeks of pay imo

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#824

Post by kharak » Wed, May 06, 2020, 9:51 AM UTC

CamperBob2 wrote: post #817

kharak wrote: post #792

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correlation and causation. If you claim that lesser employee protection causes more innovation, proof it. So far, this is merely a believe.

Are you sure the burden of proof isn't yours? You're making an unlikely claim, if not an extraordinary one. If I shoot someone and they fall down dead, is "b....b....but correlation isn't causation!" a valid defense?

I think that just speaks volumes of your cultural bias.

For me, it is quit natural to assume that a base level of employee protection causes innovation. And Germany would be a good example, as there are quit some innovative small to medium sized companies. The only thing lacking is tech unicorns and there are all sorts of reasons for this.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#825

Post by kortilla » Wed, May 06, 2020, 9:52 AM UTC

andruby wrote: post #734

fourmyle wrote: post #701

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Health care is about $500 a month for someone in their 30s in the USA who is healthy. That doesn’t make up $125k.

Sending your kids to school all the way up including university costs about ~€10K per kid in Europe. How much would it cost in the US? ~$150K? I think that would make up another large chunk of price difference. And: it’s available for every parent. Not just those in nice tech jobs.

All the way up is 17 years about of school. A $100k annual difference still puts the tech employee way ahead.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#826

Post by jashmatthews » Wed, May 06, 2020, 9:57 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #800

bildung wrote: post #798

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth noting that those companies have trillion dollar stock valuation, but by far less actual revenue. Average revenue per year of these companies is "just" 159 billions. Amazon has had a revenue of 88 billion. German companies with more revenue than Amazon: Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Allianz, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Uniper, Bosch. On the smaller end, Germany also has a comparable number of employer firms per…

Amazon 2019 revenue is $280B, which is greater than every company you listed and tied with Volkswagen. Valuation reflects market sentiment and potential but perhaps I should have left it out. The real focus is the "world-changing" aspect of the products produced. What have been the recent global innovations produced by those German companies? Anything turned into a household name?

Every Apple iPhone and Watch uses Bosch's gyroscope and accelerometer tech. They're also the market leader in smaller EV tech used in electric motorcycles, bikes and scooters. It all goes out to consumers without them knowing. Even Tesla use Bosch parts.

That's why they're called a "hidden champion".

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#827

Post by kortilla » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:01 AM UTC

asdff wrote: post #804

misun78 wrote: post #599

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The markets seem to vehemently disagree with that entire narrative.

Are we looking at the same markets? We are still below where we were, and a pullback after an initial legdown is expected. Look at the chart from 2008. Leg down, pull back, some time at the top of the roller coaster to look around, then the real big second leg down that just pummels the market.

Nasdaq is nearly flat for the year. 2008 was systemic failure of financial system. Unless you’re suggesting something much worse will be unearthed by this shock, this is looking like 1987.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#828

Post by alluro2 » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:02 AM UTC

astura wrote: post #762

govg wrote: post #679

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are like a couple of hundred cases of Polio every year in the world and for all practical purposes Small pox is extinct.

33 reported cases of polio in 2018

Yeah, but some of them were from episodes of House

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#829

Post by manigandham » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:06 AM UTC

baddox wrote: post #774

manigandham wrote: post #694

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Skyscrapers and multistory industrial centers with multiple tenants already exist. But really? The thing most preventing you from starting a factory today is... because you can't find the land? Alright then.

It’s not about locating land. That’s easy. It’s about controlling the land.

Start by making things where you live right now. In fact that's how many HN users are producing value as we speak.

Finding and controlling land to expand your business is not a serious limiting issue. You have effectively infinite headroom before you need to worry that you can't own a factory on Earth because too many other factories already exist.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#830

Post by bildung » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:07 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #800

bildung wrote: post #798

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth noting that those companies have trillion dollar stock valuation, but by far less actual revenue. Average revenue per year of these companies is "just" 159 billions. Amazon has had a revenue of 88 billion. German companies with more revenue than Amazon: Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Allianz, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Uniper, Bosch. On the smaller end, Germany also has a comparable number of employer firms per…

Amazon 2019 revenue is $280B, which is greater than every company you listed and tied with Volkswagen. Valuation reflects market sentiment and potential but perhaps I should have left it out. The real focus is the "world-changing" aspect of the products produced. What have been the recent global innovations produced by those German companies? Anything turned into a household name?

You're correct regarding Amazon's revenue, I somehow got the 2014 data, sorry.

I'm actually not quite sure what you mean with the "global innovations" part, though, could you expand on that? What is it that makes e.g. Microsoft innovative?

What I see is the your big four all sell consumer product/ services and thus are more visible. E.G. Bosch is developing electric powertrain components, produces radar/lidar and video sensors for autonomous driving. Bosch also produces the robots used in those mostly-automated factories.