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Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

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

#831

Post by beagle3 »

jlbnjmn wrote: post #554
beagle3 wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. This is my comment most downvoted in history, and I would really appreciate an explanation why from someone who understands why (no hard feelings, I don't care about internet/brownie points, but the reason I'm here on HN is to learn and downvotes only help me figure out that someone thinks I'm wrong, not why). If you think this is factually wrong, please point out why. If you think it's stupid (even though it is…

In Germany, if an employee gets laid off after 2 years, they would get 50% monthly salary times number of years worked, so 1 months pay. That means the Airbnb severance package is equivalent to a 6+ year employee, for every employee getting laid off. That's generous by German standards, isn't it? Then when you consider the median income for a software engineer in Germany is $54k, whereas in the USA it's $92k, and at…

In Denmark according to GlassDoor [0], Avg developer salary is 530K DKK/yr =~ $76K ; The policy for severance months[1] is sliding, but is front loaded and starts at with 1m severance for 5m worked, sliding down to 6m severance of >9years with a few more stops.

In Israel, according to GlassDoor [2], the avg pay for a software developer is 253K ILS =~ $72K USD; severance policy is 1m severance for every 1y worked.

When I was employing people in the UK, salaries were significantly higher than those paid in Israel or Denmark, though they are lower (~$68k/year) now that the GBP lost so much of its value (and ... I haven't employed anyone in the UK for more than a decade; not sure how different it is now)

I'm not familiar with the german market, but - $75K vs. $92K is 20% difference, which from my experience is very consistent, including at the high end (Amazon in Israel is offering top engineers $300K-$350K/yr for example, and I would guess FB, Goog, MSFT are doing that as well, "regular" senior engineers at the $150K level).

And it's important that this severance pay is not, in any way, dependent on benevolence, generosity, or even proper management in most cases -- employers are forced fund governmenta-approved-and-regulated severance funds on a monthly basis, so bankruptcy doesn't rob the employee.

McDonald's employees get the same arrangement, although some companies (mostly finance and high tech) are much more generous than that.

[0] https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/copenhagen-software-devel...

[1] https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/emcc/erm/legis...

[2] https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/tel-aviv-yafo-software-en... - note, this is for Tel-Aviv but payscale.com gives a similar number for the entire country.

p.s. Israel is not actually in Europe - it's in Asia (very close to North Africa and relatively close to Southern Europe). But from a legal and cultural perspective, Israel is closest to being European -- specifically, Irsaeli Laws were forked from British Laws in 1948.

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

#832

Post by kortilla »

CaptainZapp wrote: post #777
deathgrips wrote: post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why is there no increased demand-driven supply on these things? Most American states prohibit price hikes during a disaster, which prevents companies from producing more during high demand.

> Most American states prohibit price hikes during a disaster, which prevents companies from producing more during high demand. Sorry, but how exactly does that follow?

Scenario:

-oil shortage.

-Price is capped at $50/barrel to prevent “price gouging”.

-A bunch of shut down wells that are only profitable at $70+ stay shut down.

Do you see how price caps prevent supply with higher production cost from entering the market?

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

#833

Post by ryanbrunner »

agensaequivocum wrote: post #686
ryanbrunner wrote: post #568

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's specified in their employment contract, they absolutely do. A severance package is really at the root of it just something laid out in an employment contract that says that absent cause, an employer needs to compensate the employee for terminating the contract. Clauses like that are super common in all kinds of contracts. The main difference, of course, is that in countries that require this sort of thing, it…

Yes I should have been more specific. If it is agreed to than yes the payment is due. But the government forcing it is unjust.

Are notice periods, minimum wages, and restricting discrimination on protected grounds unjust as well? All of those are forced onto employment contracts in the U.S. (if not explicitly, then implicitly) regardless of whether employees or employers want them to be.

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

#834

Post by disiplus »

manigandham wrote: post #803
kharak wrote: post #767

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You meant more freedom for those who are in a powerful enough position to take advantage of it. That the other side of the coin is misery for those, who have not the means to exercise these freedoms, that is the problem your comments ignore. There is always theoretical freedom and practical (real) freedom. It is not evident, that the USA offers more freedom to the average person.

It is easier to start and grow a business when there are less regulations around employees. Every employee in America is also free to walk away from their job without any notice. These are both facts and have allowed for vast commercial growth and innovation in America (and in countries with similar setups). Whether you (can) take advantage is completely orthogonal to the original question of why the USA is "an aberr…

maybe the reason why so many want to start they own business is because u can get fired for no reason. being it's own boss gives you at least the freedom to not always live in fear of being fired if you do something that the company does not want, like getting pregnant, i have read enough stores of companies firing pregnant women and i cannot believe it's legal to happen.

in europe at least that part is gone, you start your own company not out of necessity but out of motivation.

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

#835

Post by LunaSea »

deaddodo wrote: post #738
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…

They're referring to specifically the tech industry. Which is, most assuredly, higher paid in California than anywhere else around the globe (in the mean, there are obvious exceptions). This comes from a person with EU citizenship who has shopped jobs/interviewed in multiple major cities in Europe; including Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Dublin and Prague. It's not insignificant. We're talking 150-220k USD/yr in…

> AMS Apartments: 930-3500EUR

Wait what?! What kind of apartments are we talking about here?

> $38/mo where I opted to work in LA

What does the medical insurance cover?

How much did your car & car insurance cost in LA and did you need one in Amsterdam (probably not)?

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

#836

Post by LunaSea »

eanzenberg wrote: post #715
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…

It’s worth making 4x in the states and paying less taxes to boot. Forget cost of living, only rent is more expensive so tack on an extra $2k a month if you don’t want to live with roommates.

Cars are also vastly more expensive and so is medical insurance.

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

#837

Post by user5994461 »

dmode wrote: post #531
kippinitreal wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that $4 billion in bookings or only their take? If it's the latter, then their "real" revenue per employee is much lower. For marketplaces it seems disingenuous when they use the top-line number for revenue given that they can only increase their rake so much.

Airbnb booking is north of $40bn

source? highly doubt that.

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

#838

Post by ewidar »

1-more wrote: post #655
xenospn wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really strange to me that companies in the US can just determine how much severance they're "willing" to pay. Why is it even up to them?

Labor day is celebrated on May 1st around the world in honor of the events of the Haymarket Affair, where the Chicago police attacked striking workers. But in the US it is celebrated at the end of summer. This is not an accident, and is directly connected to your question.

Never realised that, great way to make a country forget its history.

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

#839

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

manigandham wrote: post #813
disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #810

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the dollar is the world reserve currency, and lots and lots of large pension funds, university endowments and family offices spend tiny proportions of their assets on VC (as it's expected to be uncorrelated with market returns). VC's tend to be look a person in the eye and judge his (almost always) character. They don't like travelling, so most of their investments are made in the Bay Area. Coupled to this, t…

You realize other countries have VCs too right? Yet hundreds of foreign billions still go to America because it's a better environment for innovation and produces bigger and more impactful companies. Your 3rd point even relies on it.

Venture capital by selected countries: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1071105/value-of-investm...

Note that it's per capita, and Israel has a population of 8mn, versus the US's 330mn.

I think it's pretty clear that most VC funding is given in the USA.

And note that the terms are often much better, and funding is accessible earlier. This article explicity states that you want to get seed funding in the US if you want to maximise your valuation. See: https://medium.com/sosv-accelerator-vc/what-does-seed-fundin...

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

#840

Post by LunaSea »

manigandham wrote: post #813
disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #810

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the dollar is the world reserve currency, and lots and lots of large pension funds, university endowments and family offices spend tiny proportions of their assets on VC (as it's expected to be uncorrelated with market returns). VC's tend to be look a person in the eye and judge his (almost always) character. They don't like travelling, so most of their investments are made in the Bay Area. Coupled to this, t…

You realize other countries have VCs too right? Yet hundreds of foreign billions still go to America because it's a better environment for innovation and produces bigger and more impactful companies. Your 3rd point even relies on it.

Yes but these companies also largely exist because you have a deregulated market whereas the European Union is a much more regulated market.

These regulations provide for worker rights, productions and consumption safety, product quality and much more. Something America is lacking in completely.

You also have a government and department of defense that helps a lot of your big multinationals grow and kill it's foreign competitors.

You can look at the acquisition of Alstom by General Eletric as a good example.

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