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The layoffs at Klarna

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Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#291

Post by jdasdf »

drakonka wrote: post #203

I was actually surprised to read that the Swedish CEO "took a dab at unions". Sure, relationships with unions can be complicated, but I've never heard an employer talk negatively about them here (maybe I'm just sheltered?). I am used to seeing union reps come to the office a few times a year for Q&As and feedback sessions, and taking about union membership was normal in internal channels. Never heard of anyone in lea…

Have you considered that this:

>Being hostile to unions seems like a normal thing for some other parts of the world, but seeing a Swedish employer talk like this about union membership here immediately leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the company. It's a red flag.

is the reason for this:

>I was actually surprised to read that the Swedish CEO "took a dab at unions". Sure, relationships with unions can be complicated, but I've never heard an employer talk negatively about them here (maybe I'm just sheltered?).

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#292

Post by deltree7 »

geysersam wrote: post #277
deltree7 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would challenge that notion too. I rather travel the world, eat great food, take tennis lessons, dance into the night when I'm in 20's and 30's where I get the most enjoyment rather than in my 60s where my body is not in good physical shape to do any of those things. The fact that I travelled the world in my 20s may also enhance my own future productivity. I would even further claim that not enough people go into d…

This is delusional and besides the point. You can't loan for consumption in your 20-30s, planning to pay it back in your 40s and 50s. Klarna does not even offer loans beyond 36 months, and month 1 to 36 you have 20% interest rate! If you skip a payment there are steep fees. Klarna is for short term loans. Like, half a month. Klarna is definitely not offering their service to poor people in developing nations. Even if…

I never mentioned anything about Klarna. I merely commented on capitalism and debt

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#293

Post by rubyist5eva »

throwaway98797 wrote: post #215
rubyist5eva wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had my fair share of failures that's for sure. I'm do not expecting to actually succeed every single time, but I am putting in the best effort to at least try to succeed instead of just trying to coast along or shrug it off being like "meh, just wasn't in the cards". I also don't expect massive celebrations when I actually do succeed - success is what is expected. If I'm supposed to make the big sale, I don't ge…

that’s bleak why not have some joy? you might say you do have joy, but I’ll say it doesn’t look like it and so to bring it back I wouldn’t want to work for you This is why companies are always pushing the “winning” narrative. to be clear I’m only commenting on how your philosophy is perceived vs how it actually feels, since I can’t know that.

Maybe I’m not articulating myself correctly because I certainly do not want to imply or say that there is no joy in my life. I guess the “joy” in my life is just intrinsic rather than extrinsic? I get immense satisfaction out of my work itself and “succeeding” in and of itself is motivating. I also find mentoring/helping others succeed to also be extremely rewarding. The greatest joy I get in life is seeing how my actions have improved the lives of others in some way.

I also feel very fulfilled from my personal relationships, family and lifestyle that my “success” affords me.

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#294

Post by huijzer »

chrsig wrote: post #14

> The culture of “we are awesome” has dominated most internal communications for the last couple of years, including in 2022. We all believed that we were awesome and would continue growing and winning. This is the big thing that drives me nuts . I don't know if it's a fragility of ego thing or what the cause may be, but it results in a corporate inability to critically self-evaluate at the highest levels. If you can…

Ben Horowitz talks about this somewhere near the start of his book "The Hard Thing about Hard Things“. If I remember correctly, he said that it was very difficult for him as a CEO to load the problems he had onto his employees because handing the burden over felt bad. He was responsible for the burden. It makes some sense if you think about it like that. Later he did turn things around and share his worries and to his surprise the employees weren’t to worried and actually started to solve some of the problems.

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#295

Post by hotpotamus »

erenyeager wrote: post #270
hotpotamus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually worked providing infrastructure to tech companies; from large enterprises to startups. I think I realized starting in the early to mid 10's that all the startups I was working with were just about taking VC money to provide the founders with hip, well paying jobs - the stated goal of the company was mostly immaterial and the "change the world" talk was virtue signaling to the rank and file so they don't fe…

Buy Now Pay Later actually has a really good use case, it’s for people who may be wary of credit cards, interest, and or low credit scores. For example, many people who wouldn’t take out credit cards will use BNPL. Also, usury is prohibited in the major Abrahamic religions, so BNPL can also work for client avoiding interest loans.

So before I worked at the last job, I worked for a camera store back in the last days where those were still generally a thing (2004-2010 - it wasn't too bad of a job for a kid in school). We offered by now, pay later back then, and I don't think we invented it either. Of course it was basically just a credit card application, and there was no requirement to pay it off within a set amount of time, but if you didn't, then they'd hit you with all the interest that had quietly been accruing during their "introductory period" or whatever they called it. Which is to say that it was scummy and deceptive, but not much more so than other American business practices and certainly less than others, and hey they had to make money and eat too.

Perhaps Klarna really is better, but then again maybe that's why they're hemorrhaging money at such an impressive rate.

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#296

Post by ergocoder »

jedberg wrote: post #34

Wow, that sounds so poorly handled. Not figuring out a way to tell everyone affected at (nearly) the same time is probably the worst sin. Best layoff I ever went through was when my boss came to our team and said, "look, don't tell anyone, but we have a layoff coming in a few days. I have to let one of the three of you go. Do you want me to decide or do you want to decide amongst yourselves?". She knew we were good f…

This sounds like a worse way of doing a layoff. It specifically worked for you in your situation. I doubt it would work for anyone else.

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#297

Post by Apocryphon »

the_only_law wrote: post #267
iforgotpassword wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "maybe you were a shit employee and were fired for it and your employer isnt in the wrong?" or "your Show HN really isn't that impressive". We're not allowed to say anything critical of other HN users without being downvoted or reprimanded by dang. These things absolutely can be said on HN, if you list some points that make you think so. If OTOH your comment ist literally just that one sentence then I don't see why…

> These things absolutely can be said on HN, if you list some points that make you think so. Only if what you say doesn’t oppose the current zeitgeist of the thread. I’ve seen some of the most well thought out and level headed comments get flagged to death while some insult floats to the top.

HN cannot escape the group dynamics that are universal to all gatherings of human beings, this is likely to have been true throughout the history of this site, even if to different extents.

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#298

Post by hotpotamus »

blantonl wrote: post #257
allenu wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I recently left an 8,000 person company that's been on a 2 decade loop of private money to publicly traded and back a couple times now. It occurred to me that in 25ish years (about 10 of which I worked there) that it might never have made any money That is crazy if true. My fear is that there are a ton of tech companies like that, just chasing future profits or an acquisition, but not actually creating anything of…

Rackspace?

Well spotted ;)

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#299

Post by alkonaut »

rsanek wrote: post #133
alkonaut wrote: post #92

Should be noted that employment in Sweden is as far from “at will” as you can get. There is basically no legal difference between a union worker at a paper mill and a software developer at a startup (once it reaches a certain size). The law basically says that the last one in must be first out, and sidestepping this order requires negotiating severance with unions (yes also for white collar tech workers). So if you n…

It seems like the article is saying that the fact that there isn't a union is actually a big help in the ability to do this kind of lay-off. > Swedish companies must negotiate with unions before layoffs. However, this was not the case at Klarna, nor is it the case at most Swedish tech companies. Klarna does not have a collective bargaining agreement (called “kollektivavtal” in Swedish) in place. This means that Klarn…

Yes exactly, If there is no collective agreement then it’s simpler: the law applies. It’s the law that says you fire the last hire first.

To sidestep it then just requires bargaining with the individual rather than a union.

Re: The layoffs at Klarna

#300

Post by travisgriggs »

I admit that I was barely aware of this apparently largish company? I'd heard the name Klarna before, but knew nothing of it.

And yet, I found myself reading this in a riveted fashion. Why is that? Is it just the macabre nature of humans to slow down when passing accidents? My anxiety about how the little guys world can suddenly be turned upside down? I'm honestly intrigued why I couldn't quit reading this.

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