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Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

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Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#811

Post by tzs »

jacquesm wrote: post #100

> And they can't reduce their salary now because it'd be unfair on their families. That must be a real comfort to all the people they laid off. This CEO needs to go, needs to be replaced by someone who is well versed in technology instead of in law.

> This CEO needs to go, needs to be replaced by someone who is well versed in technology instead of in law

There are people who are well versed in both. There are several HN posters for instance who are or have been both lawyers and engineers (although I can't recall any specific names at the moment).

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#812

Post by gallamine »

izacus wrote: post #442
eloisant wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least Brave isn't trying to pretend it's a non-profit

But they're pretending to be privacy respecting while injecting their own ads in webpages. Far far from behaviour we'd ever want from Firefox.

You are not correct. I've never seen an injected ad and I use it and Firefox exclusively.

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#813

Post by warbaker »

indymike wrote: post #672
jacquesm wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a problem that she is both on the board and CEO, which effectively makes her impossible to hold to account unless the board members that want her out would resign if she does not want to make way. That would be a major statement and would put the remaining board members on notice. The board typically does not get compensated the way the CEO does so they are usually not in a position to 'suck it dry', on top of…

One of the best and hardest things to do for anything with a board of directors is to establish that EVERY BOARD MEETING starts with a vote on one simple question: "Shall the CEO/Executive Director be retained?" Every company, not for profit or even tiny club that makes this the big question performs it's mission well. Those that don't, well, you get a lot more politics.

Imagine if, every quarter, a committee voted on whether you keep your job.

Does this make you more or less willing to take risks? More or less focused? Does this decrease or increase the amount of attention you give to "optics" and politics?

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#814

Post by rowanG077 »

mywacaday wrote: post #466
austincheney wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Previously they had appointed an excellent CEO from within that is universally well respected for his technology contributions and then they fired him after 11 days without cause. Now that guy is a CEO at a different company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Eich

Thanks for the link, wasn't aware of the details. While I 100% disagree with him on marriage equality I don't understand why he was driven from his role that has nothing to do with Proposition 8. Why did his freedom to support a cause with his own money result in him having to resign, seems anti-democratic to me.

It's a sad state of affairs for society. When you don't agree with the status quo you get "canceled". Even if it has nothing to do with your function.

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#815

Post by happyjack »

This is my 2 cents on the Mozilla situation:

Mozilla need to stop sucking at google's teet. I know this is much easier said than done. At some point, the value proposition to google is not going to be that great since they already own the browser market. Not sure about you all, but I use Firefox. I use computers daily and immediately change my search engine to DDG once I have a fresh install.

They need to go after corporate IT departments and say something like the following: buy into our product. Our code is open, we are a charity, and we are here to make the web a secure place and free to everyone. We are here to make sure you are not bullied. They need something like the Linux foundation's model. They need the Exxons, they need the Fords. They need to show how scary it will be if Google wins the browser war again and what it will do to them, just like it would be scary if one single entity started owning the Linux kernel.

I think consumer markets are fickle. I bet if someone uses FF at work they are much more likely to use it at home.

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#816

Post by warbaker »

I feel like there's another angle here. Perhaps the attempts diversification that the author so decries were an attempt to keep Mozilla relevant even if its flagship sinks.

Also, I don't totally understand why you can expect to get and retain talent while paying way below market rate.

And... suppose the CEO were paid 1M instead of 2M. That's, what, 5 engineers? You could pay the CEO $0 and it would make only a small dent in the recent layoffs.

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#817

Post by jbay808 »

bdcravens wrote: post #725
chmod775 wrote: post #628

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could save a lot of jobs by cutting into the CEOs salary, jobs of people who actually do something productive.

How many jobs? I agree they are overpaid, but that salary covers maybe 10% of those job cuts.

That's quite a lot, though!

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#819

Post by staticassertion »

sambe wrote: post #408
Jonnax wrote: post #13

There's a quote from the CEO saying that they looked at the market and felt like they were being underpaid. And they can't reduce their salary now because it'd be unfair on their families. Firefox has a problem. It gets most of its revenue from Google. They need a different revenue stream but their ideas haven't worked. Their executives are clearly failures. But with such high pay, they're cashing out. Buying themsel…

The claim was not that they can't reduce but that an 80% discount was too much to ask of people (and thus also their families). I don't think anyone at any pay level would be happy being paid 20% of similar roles. Perhaps the problem was putting people in these roles in the first place that would accept 20% of market rate. Raising their pay subsequently doesn't make them better at their job! The quote is not really c…

I took a major financial hit to be a CEO, and as a CEO I feel personally responsible for the company's success. My compensation is primarily in ownership and stock - I would never take a massive pay raise if my company were failing, let alone repeated massive raises over years of company downturn.

And then to wipe out a massive portion of your employee base? I find it abhorrent, personally.

Re: Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

#820

Post by disown »

twblalock wrote: post #94
Jonnax wrote: post #13

There's a quote from the CEO saying that they looked at the market and felt like they were being underpaid. And they can't reduce their salary now because it'd be unfair on their families. Firefox has a problem. It gets most of its revenue from Google. They need a different revenue stream but their ideas haven't worked. Their executives are clearly failures. But with such high pay, they're cashing out. Buying themsel…

The Mozilla execs could all make more money at FAANG companies just down the road from Mozilla HQ. If they left, it would probably be pretty hard to replace them with anyone capable of saving Firefox who would settle for less. The same is true for most of the engineers at Mozilla. They could go to FAANGs and increase their compensation quite a bit. So while I agree that the leadership has been bad, executive pay was…

> The Mozilla execs could all make more money at FAANG companies just down the road from Mozilla HQ.

So let them.

> The same is true for most of the engineers at Mozilla. They could go to FAANGs and increase their compensation quite a bit.

So let them.

To both your assertions, I highly doubt it. Maybe 1 or 2, but for the vast majority, no.

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