Tech workers need unions. This is becoming more clear by the day.
Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
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Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#92“On Tuesday we set a new record for total daily transaction volume processed.” How does a company breaking records 36 hours ago conclude they need to lay off 14% of the workforce? Even with economic storm clouds on the horizon that seems very jumpy.
Because they hire people they don't need to show growth and attract investors.
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#93Hey pc, if you're around: > John and I are fully responsible for the decisions leading up to it. What are the two of you doing to show accountability? Are you slashing your own future stock grants, cutting your own salaries, diluting your positions with stock grants to everyone else? What's the consequence for this decision on your end that shows you're accountable for what happened, not just responsible for it? Sinc…
i hate this trend of ceos saying they take responsibility. Reminds me of lord farquuad, "some of you may die, but that is a price i'm willing to pay"
I think whatever a leader does which isn’t ritual suicide when announcing layoffs is going to get criticism. People in power hired when expecting an uptick and fired when expecting a downtick.
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#94> The world is now shifting again. We are facing stubborn inflation, energy shocks, higher interest rates, reduced investment budgets, and sparser startup funding. (Tech company earnings last week provided lots of examples of changing circumstances.) On Tuesday, a former Treasury Secretary said that the US faces “as complex a set of macroeconomic challenges as at any time in 75 years”, and many parts of the developed world appear to be headed for recession. We think that 2022 represents the beginning of a different economic climate.
To justify the move, Stripe is pointing in every direction except their own operational situation. What's going on at Stripe?
> ... We provide an important foundation to our customers and Stripe is not a discretionary service that customers turn off if budget is squeezed. ...
Ok, so are you saying that business has taken such a dive so quickly that you're trying to get in front of it? Or are there more announcements like this on tap?
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#95A bit surprising considering they had 3x growth since 2020 according to this post. THen why the need to cut ? THe only answer could be "need higher returns for shareholders" because I honestly doubt their growth is at risk.
So is Stripe saying that they are cutting because they grew much faster during Pandemic and now are not growing as fast so they need to slash 14% of workforce to keep the same returns for shareholders ? Would love to hear from Stripe CEO directly.
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#96I feel bad for employees that have waited a decade to cash out. No reason why Stripe couldn’t have gone public in 2020-2021 at a huge valuation but from past interviews it sounds like the decision to remain private was just a founder preference thing because “focus” or something. Now the IPO market is completely frozen and its valuation is likely cut in half from peak, at least.
Is Stripe profitable? I heard some of its financing is from PE and bank funding, which tend to be less tolerant of money losing or low profit operations. If they are not profitable they will need more capital eventually or to lengthen their runway.
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#97Hey pc, if you're around: > John and I are fully responsible for the decisions leading up to it. What are the two of you doing to show accountability? Are you slashing your own future stock grants, cutting your own salaries, diluting your positions with stock grants to everyone else? What's the consequence for this decision on your end that shows you're accountable for what happened, not just responsible for it? Sinc…
Quoted post unavailable.
I think the ball is in your court when launching an ad hominem attack (before we even get to the question of whether it is relevant) It seems like that should be easy enough to provide some evidence for, if it’s true.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=meditating%20collison%... Gives nothing at a glance. Do you have anything?
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unless they were planning on growing transaction volume more
I'm British, so I appreciate that there's a difference in approach across the pond, but I still think this is a shitty thing to do. They are still growing (and setting records it would seem). Just hold on to the staff and swallow the small dent in opex.
Not how it works from a financial analysis point of view. When interest rates rise money further down the line is rapidly devalued and cash flows in the near future are reprioritized. And firing people today and taking small layoff costs is much more accretive to the bottom line than growth down the line.
Also: Seems like the whole of VC is now on the FCF/Opex control train.
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is my take on it. Everyone went crazy on hiring. Nothing is crashing, it's just the market returning to normal. Well, except for Meta. They're having a bad time lol.
You should see the financials from some Indian unicorns that raised hundreds of millions in 2020-22. $5-6M in revenue, $50M in expenses. No money anywhere. VCs were way too exuberant and founders were more than happy to mop up the capital.
And here I was, working with a startup that had difficulty landing $500K. It was my first foray into being a founder, but I learned that I do not understand the investing landscape at all.
Re: Stripe laying off around 14% of workforce
#100“On Tuesday we set a new record for total daily transaction volume processed.” How does a company breaking records 36 hours ago conclude they need to lay off 14% of the workforce? Even with economic storm clouds on the horizon that seems very jumpy.
I am always wary of non financial metrics. Eyeballs, DAU, transactions. The old yarn about selling $2 for $1 and making it up on volume comes to mind.