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Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

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Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#331

Post by drc500free »

yuan43 wrote: post #275
drc500free wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked at a startup that tried that. Within 4 months, a good chunk of the best tech people were gone. Within 12 months they had gone under. Maybe for an economy-wide recession where your workers have no other options. But if it's just startup risk that are making you founder, you're basically guaranteeing a death spiral. There is some chance if you make it a fixed-term paycut with a payback with interest, but you b…

What were the prevailing job market conditions when the pay cut was tried?

It was the beginning of covid and we were in the travel industry. It was messaged well and the executives took a bigger % paycut than everyone else, so no one was angry about it.

The best people went to FAANG (immediate comp) or one particular fintech startup (good shot at an exit).

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#332

Post by marcinzm »

gruez wrote: post #133
daoist_shaman wrote: post #124

This is a red flag. Robinhood is struggling for capital, so I wouldn't trust them with my cash investments whatsoever. Not that anyone has trusted them for a while, but yeah.

>Robinhood is struggling for capital, so I wouldn't trust them with my cash whatsoever. Why not? You're protected by SIPC for up to $500k (for securities) and $250k (for cash).

>Why not? You're protected by SIPC for up to $500k (for securities) and $250k (for cash).

Presumably there's some delay in the recovery process during which you cannot access or trade your assets. Crypto is also explicitly not covered.

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#333

Post by fleddr »

ianai wrote: post #297
fleddr wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, unions and legislation. The devil is in the details but those are the main instruments, if only we were more willing and motivated.

Maybe it’s worth reiterating that the unions and legal frameworks didn’t just happen “because unions.” And unions weren’t always (never were) guiltless entities. It was always a fight. The past is full of incidents to be horrified and emboldened by learning. Edit-there have been long periods where seemingly nothing can possibly change. Then enough backlash is raised against another side (even the status quo) and thin…

There's different types of unions, those in Europe tend to be different from the unions the US used to have (and perhaps still have).

Unions in my country (Netherlands) do not protect the individual. You do not get hired via a union (free job from a "friend") nor does the union protect you from getting fired. The union is only there to protect collective interests. For example, a massive degradation in contract terms for all workers.

In the Netherlands, strikes are extremely rare because of a unique system called the "Polder Model", it's a triangle of government, employers and unions coming to yearly wide sweeping agreements on things like taxes, pensions, employment and termination terms, the like.

It has provided an extreme degree of stability for decades in a row. Simply put, it's a system that suppresses extremes. Nobody really wins or loses.

I have to admit though that this once well working system is largely hollowed out by now. Under the pressures of globalization, power has shifted slowly but surely towards the government-employers pair.

It seems worldwide the working class (and to a large degree the middle class) has been abandoned by both politics and employers.

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#334

Post by fuckstick »

UncleMeat wrote: post #245
paxys wrote: post #29

> As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory—this is on me Reminder that Vlad Tenev received $800M in compensation in 2021. In the same year the company made terrible bets on crypto and banking, took an irreversible reputation hit among its core user base because of the GME fiasco, had multiple user data breaches, was subject to several investigations and was fined hundreds of mi…

It is worth repeating this. 800M is more money in a single day than a very large number of people make in an entire lifetime.

Wat?

What does the timescale of a single day have to do with anything?

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#335

Post by alasdair_ »

gruez wrote: post #255
alasdair_ wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is if you are an executive that is privy to non-public information.

That's insider trading, and a whole different accusation than the one levied above, which is implying some sort of wealth inequality issue that executives are compensated in stocks and non-executives are compensated in cash.

My point is that if you have non-public information, you can’t actually sell the shares for cash whenever you wish, so it’s not the same thing.

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#336

Post by sbierwagen »

gruez wrote: post #133
daoist_shaman wrote: post #124

This is a red flag. Robinhood is struggling for capital, so I wouldn't trust them with my cash investments whatsoever. Not that anyone has trusted them for a while, but yeah.

>Robinhood is struggling for capital, so I wouldn't trust them with my cash whatsoever. Why not? You're protected by SIPC for up to $500k (for securities) and $250k (for cash).

SIPC pays out eventually. If you routinely withdraw money from your brokerage account to pay for expenses or are doing anything fancy with options, you may not want to twiddle your thumbs for months while the bankruptcy court chews things over.

https://www.sipc.org/for-investors/investor-faqs

>Once a customer claim is filed, the trustee will research and analyze the claim and then mail to the claimant a written determination either allowing or disallowing the claim. If the claim is allowed, the trustee will satisfy the claim through the distribution to the claimant of “customer property” or advances from SIPC, or some combination of the two.

>How quickly claims are satisfied depends on the complexity of the liquidation and the condition of the failed brokerage firm’s records. Delays of several months can arise when the firms’ records are not accurate or incomplete. It also is not uncommon for delays to take place when the brokerage firm or its principals were involved in misconduct. When the records of the brokerage firm are accurate, and no misconduct occurred, deliveries of some securities and cash to customers may begin shortly after the Trustee receives completed claim forms from customers. Generally, in these cases, customers may receive at least some of their property one to three months after filing a completed claim form.

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#337

Post by citizenkeen »

xpe wrote: post #217
manquer wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rich don’t see it that way. At its core wealth accumulation is a scoring contest so every penny counts for those care. Also if you have all the material needs that is satisfied, then you go after the rare hard to get high value exclusive money drain this is human nature. For your specific example what that 50m might make difference it maybe a bigger jet that flies further or a second jet for the family or a yatch…

Imagine if I was visiting Laos and told someone I met in the countryside that I spent, say $2,000 on a racing bicycle -- which would be considered "normal" in bike racing culture in many parts of the US. Imagine what that person would think! My central point is this: People are quick to "normalize" their behavior relative to their perceived peer group. So, yes, multinational CEO compensation is hard to comprehend. (I…

At my company (non-tech), all leadership compensation is paid based on percentages hit over the next five years.

Your first year, you’re only getting 20% off the position’s salary, and 80% goes to your predecessors. When you retire, 20% of your salary got the previous four years is based on how well the company does the year after you leave.

It strongly incentivizes healthy transitions and long-term plans.

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#338

Post by peanutz454 »

alex_young wrote: post #261
jonas21 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you talking about the ~$800M in stock-based compensation described here [1]? Nearly all of that only vests if Robinhood stock hits price targets between $120 and $300 per share. The remainder requires a price of $50.75 to be sustained for 60 days. Since none of these goals have been met, Vlad has not received any of it. And unless the company turns around dramatically - it's currently around $9/share - it's likel…

Completely valid point. The same document points out that the CEO and CCO (both co-founders) each realized more than $168M in compensation in 2021. That's the number to talk about I think.

Wow!

$168M/(3800 employee / 100*23 layoff) = $192,219 per layed off employee

Not that I am suggesting he should pay the layed off employees from his personal kitty. Just trying to understand the numbers.

Edit: OP said CEO and COO each. So $192K x 2 ~= $384,000.

Re: Robinhood lays off 23% of staff

#339

Post by StopHammoTime »

fleddr wrote: post #85

We live in such morally bankrupt times. You can just say "you take responsibility" without actually taking responsibility at all. Our expectations have become so low and we've become so complacent that just the statement is enough. In similar vain, "we care about your mental health" as is the common internal email from HR. No actual care is offered though. Giving staff a day off is a tangible example of doing at leas…

You're absolutely right. Taking responsibility would be resigning.

If a normal employee missed their goals by this much, they'd be on a PIP and out the door in less than three months.

Rules for me, and rules for thee.

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