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Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

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Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#31

Post by ffggvv »

sbarre wrote: post #7

This part at the end of the article is probably the real true nugget in here: > But implicit in that risk, Mr. Nayyar points out, is a lot of downside. Many executives thought, “but didn’t say out loud, that if demand disappeared or changed course – sometimes even slightly changed course – those people we brought on, it might not make sense to have them around any more. … You’re just a number on the page; whatever ha…

> A lesson to be learned for anyone taking a job in a fast-growing company is to really think about the value that your specific job brings to the company.

Imo the issue usually is that interesting and value bringing work are usually not in alignment at these companies.

most companies i’ve worked at, no one wanted to work on ads and found them boring even though they brought in all the revenue.

everyone wanted to work on the experimental or shiny new thing which may not have demonstrated value yet.

but not sure if it’s worth working on the boring thing just for job safety

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#32

Post by dehrmann »

Waterluvian wrote: post #18
fruit2020 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because of the morals, the risks, or the pressure?

I can’t speak for parent but I’ve been headhunted by crypto companies a lot and my feeling is the same. For me it’s as simple as: I will never work for a company where I cannot immediately and concretely understand the value proposition. Crypto people can frame this as me not being competent if that’s what they need. But I think I’m reasonably smart and usually it just sounds like a fraud.

> the value proposition

You're selling a get rich quick fantasy.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#33

Post by mikrl »

3qz wrote: post #8

A “startup” in Canada is just a dozen guys who stay afloat by chasing $50k government grants full time. It’s very good when these go out of business

Once I looked into SRED and connected the dots, whenever I heard hypercapitalist talk at work I’d have to bite my tongue.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#34

Post by valzam »

sbarre wrote: post #7

This part at the end of the article is probably the real true nugget in here: > But implicit in that risk, Mr. Nayyar points out, is a lot of downside. Many executives thought, “but didn’t say out loud, that if demand disappeared or changed course – sometimes even slightly changed course – those people we brought on, it might not make sense to have them around any more. … You’re just a number on the page; whatever ha…

What I don't understand about this: What's the point of bringing on so many engineers with the expectation of firing many of them? It takes time to get productive and especially when you hire lots of engineers they will probably work on new projects. Spending a lot of money on an engineer and then firing them before they start to really produce value is very odd...

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#35

Post by maxFlow »

sbarre wrote: post #7

This part at the end of the article is probably the real true nugget in here: > But implicit in that risk, Mr. Nayyar points out, is a lot of downside. Many executives thought, “but didn’t say out loud, that if demand disappeared or changed course – sometimes even slightly changed course – those people we brought on, it might not make sense to have them around any more. … You’re just a number on the page; whatever ha…

Back in early 2021:

> As the newest senior leader on Shopify’s engineering team, Polinsky will lead Shopify’s efforts to build its e-commerce infrastructure and will lead the company’s efforts to double its engineering team in 2021 by hiring 2,021 new technical staff. [0]

> “Engineering hiring is probably the biggest limiter to Shopify’s growth,” Harley Finkelstein [President of Shopify] said in an interview after the results. The company had hoped to hire 2,021 new engineers this year and current conditions mean “obviously, it’s hard to do that,” he said, without disclosing the number that have been hired. A tight market for talent is a worry for many industries but none more so than technology. Universities are not producing enough new engineers and the entire sector is competing for graduates, Finkelstein said. [1]

As of today they only have 10 open positions in the "Engineering & Development" department, the majority of which are for Staff/Tech Leads. [2]

Perhaps it would behoove Shopify to put a bit more thought into their hiring strategy; rather than just wanting to inflate engineer numbers as a vanity metric via jingly campaigns (2021 on 2021). "Just a number on the page".

[0] https://techcouver.com/2021/01/06/shopify-to-double-engineer... [1] https://archive.ph/RMzlm [2] https://www.shopify.com/careers/search?search%5Bkeywords%5D=...

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#36

Post by cmrdporcupine »

supernovae wrote: post #10
mkl95 wrote: post #6

I'm more interested in hiring freezes, i.e. locking people out of the industry vs forcing them to switch jobs

I’ve never seen entire industry hiring freezes so i’m not aware of the concern. Would rather stay on job during hiring freeze than he let go. I can sense if i need to bail without being subject to one or another.

A hiring freeze at all or most of the big FAANG companies lowers negotiable salary cap for all of us.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#37

Post by retcore »

seibelj wrote: post #29
adventured wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You surely realize that in the US or Canadian tech cultures, Steven Cohen is only slightly better than being backed by a billionaire Russian oligarch. Cohen is certainly extraordinarily rich and well connected, his reputation isn't going to be positive for techies generally however. That is to say, tech workers are far more likely to be turned off by your pointing that investor out than the other way around (but hey,…

To work in crypto at a sophisticated firm like Coinbase, Gemini, Circle (my former company) or my own co, it would be a given you believe in markets and the experimental nature of digital assets given… that is the whole reason to work here! I am a libertarian, free thinker, capitalist, etc. which is the standard profile in this industry. I have recruited engineers out of Amazon and Google who said they needed a chang…

Sounds like, "Move fast and break ,[habitually other people's] piggy banks." SAC is totemic in a industry founded by other people's money and the carry without any equivalent downside. Speaking as a former prop trader, of cutting edge products including those I've designed as principal, when you're touching the wider economy a entirely different set of rules either applies or someone's gotta be responsible. I don't believe that anyone's understood what "the buck stops here" means for two generations.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#39

Post by ghaff »

mkl95 wrote: post #15
supernovae wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never seen entire industry hiring freezes so i’m not aware of the concern. Would rather stay on job during hiring freeze than he let go. I can sense if i need to bail without being subject to one or another.

Hiring freezes don't have to be industry wide to be problematic. If you are competing with dozens of people for a job, there is a high chance some of them are both a good fit and willing to accept crappier compensation.

Yeah, even if there are only some actual layoffs and only some degree of hiring freezes/slowdowns/tight budgets, that translates to fewer openings with more people competing for them with lower TC being offered. The general sense among the people I talk to is that it's increasingly significantly less of an employee's market than it was 6 to 12 months ago.

Nowhere near dot-bomb territory of course (and the dynamics are different) but the market has changed.

Re: Layoffs at Canadian tech startups

#40

Post by boringg »

valzam wrote: post #34
sbarre wrote: post #7

This part at the end of the article is probably the real true nugget in here: > But implicit in that risk, Mr. Nayyar points out, is a lot of downside. Many executives thought, “but didn’t say out loud, that if demand disappeared or changed course – sometimes even slightly changed course – those people we brought on, it might not make sense to have them around any more. … You’re just a number on the page; whatever ha…

What I don't understand about this: What's the point of bringing on so many engineers with the expectation of firing many of them? It takes time to get productive and especially when you hire lots of engineers they will probably work on new projects. Spending a lot of money on an engineer and then firing them before they start to really produce value is very odd...

I dont think they intended to have to lay off people. If everyone recalls during the core of the pandemic people really thought that this was the new normal. Im sure they thought that this was a full time step change in demand. I doubt they anticipated a recession (much like most companies). The executives at most companies aren't that smart on long term macros, much more reactionary to immediate needs
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