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Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

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Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#201

Post by ptero »

lagolinguini wrote: post #184
bArray wrote: post #181

> Yep, the team is gone. The team that was researching and pushing for algorithmic transparency and algorithmic choice. The team that was studying algorithmic amplification. The team that was inventing and building ethical AI tooling and methodologies. All that is gone. If you want to justify your position, I would suggest highlighting the positive changes you _did_ make, rather than the positive changes you _intende…

> If you want to justify your position, I would suggest highlighting the positive changes you _did_ make, rather than the positive changes you _intended_ to make. Imagine where the world would be if bell labs didn't invest all that money into positive changes that people _intended_ to make.

The comment you replied to did sound callous given the fact that the author probably just got laid off.

Specifically on your response: while planning specific changes is good and so is attempting to solve hard problems, during mass layoffs the teams with few accomplishments are usually hit first. Ambitious plans seldom help. Mass layoffs are rare, but this is something one should keep in mind. My 2c.

Specifically on Bell Labs, new employees until the 1990s were told "you have a job for life" (paid by the AT&T's monopoly generating huge cash flows). But when the AT&T became less profitable and mass layoffs did start, as far as I know they followed the same pattern.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#202

Post by jmyeet »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #18

What a contrast in leadership when you compare the way Twitter is doing this (rumor is right before bonus/stock vesting and cold impersonal email) and how Stripe is conducting their layoffs (empathy, 14 weeks severance, bonus payouts, etc.) Which company is going to have an easier time hiring after the dust settles and they have a growth stage again?

Add to this, rumor has it Elon fired the 3 executives (CEO, CFO, chief legal counsel) with cause to try and avoid paying out the golden parachutes (eg the CEO would otherwise get $40-60m+). I guarantee that'll end in a lawsuit and probably a settlement for less. But I expect that to impact executive hiring.

As for hiring peons, it's hard to say. A bigger factor (IMHO) is Elon himself. Fans will probably go there. Those who don't like him probably won't. I expect that to have a far bigger impact than firing a bunch of employees right before bonus time several years earlier.

My read of the situation is that Elon never really wanted to buy Twitter. I mean he did try and get out of it but the Twitter board crafted a good contract and I believe Elon realized he was going to get dumpstered by the Delaware Chancery Court.

So what does he do now?? The private equity playbook is my guess. He'll massively cut costs, repackage it somehow, claim victory (for "free speech" or whatever) and then sell off a minority stake or even the whole thing. He may even try and do the tech thing where he sells most of the equity but retains all the voting power.

In such an environment, short term hiring probably isn't on the cards.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#205

Post by meragrin_ »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #18

What a contrast in leadership when you compare the way Twitter is doing this (rumor is right before bonus/stock vesting and cold impersonal email) and how Stripe is conducting their layoffs (empathy, 14 weeks severance, bonus payouts, etc.) Which company is going to have an easier time hiring after the dust settles and they have a growth stage again?

Well, when you have employees with irrational hatred of the new owner, you have to take some precautions.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#206

Post by phendrenad2 »

taurath wrote: post #89

Since apparently nobody else in the thread has any empathy for those who've lost their jobs, future access to healthcare (in the US and less civilized countries), and financial security, I guess I'll be the first: I feel bad for people who are laid off by the machinations of billionaires. I wish we lived in a society where it wasn't optimal to act like raving lunatics will tear down every bit of security you have at…

False dichotomy. It's possible to feel empathy for someone who takes a bitter pill, but if the pill makes them and society better, I'm not going to be shamed by you for saying it's a good thing.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#207

Post by TecoAndJix »

dopidopHN wrote: post #139
taurath wrote: post #89

Since apparently nobody else in the thread has any empathy for those who've lost their jobs, future access to healthcare (in the US and less civilized countries), and financial security, I guess I'll be the first: I feel bad for people who are laid off by the machinations of billionaires. I wish we lived in a society where it wasn't optimal to act like raving lunatics will tear down every bit of security you have at…

In civilized countries, you don’t loose your healthcare when your loose your job. It’s tie to your human status, not to a contract with a random corporation. Also, civilized societies have come up a long time ago with appropriate social nets that mitigate the hurdle of unemployment. And our food is vastly superior.

I'm with on on everything but the food! I can get like 10 different kinds of apples at my grocery store, a dry aged ribeye, and there is an entire row dedicated to different types of sparkling water. If i want fresh noodles for fish soup I can go 10 minutes down the road to the Asian grocery and get Bok Choy, fishballs, and udon noodles. The only thing not near me is a reliable source of rainbow colored bagels that my daughter loves.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#208

Post by paganel »

In all the brouhaha about the Twitter acquisition this piece of info had personally escaped me:

> Musk’s deal to buy Twitter included making the company take on $13 billion in debt from banks, which means Twitter will owe about $1 billion a year in interest payments

puts things in a slightly different perspective. I had somehow assumed that all the acquisition money had come in from Musk himself together with a bunch of other business "friends" or investment vehicles, didn't know there were direct bank loans involved.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#209

Post by DeathArrow »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #18

What a contrast in leadership when you compare the way Twitter is doing this (rumor is right before bonus/stock vesting and cold impersonal email) and how Stripe is conducting their layoffs (empathy, 14 weeks severance, bonus payouts, etc.) Which company is going to have an easier time hiring after the dust settles and they have a growth stage again?

I don't see more empathy from Stripe. And since no one has come out of the process of mass layoffs yet, we don't know if Twitter isn't going to provide severance and bonus payouts and etc.

On the other hand, Stripe was much more productive and is workforce wasn't so inflated.

Re: Twitter’s mass layoffs have begun

#210

Post by cloutchaser »

jmyeet wrote: post #202
mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #18

What a contrast in leadership when you compare the way Twitter is doing this (rumor is right before bonus/stock vesting and cold impersonal email) and how Stripe is conducting their layoffs (empathy, 14 weeks severance, bonus payouts, etc.) Which company is going to have an easier time hiring after the dust settles and they have a growth stage again?

Add to this, rumor has it Elon fired the 3 executives (CEO, CFO, chief legal counsel) with cause to try and avoid paying out the golden parachutes (eg the CEO would otherwise get $40-60m+). I guarantee that'll end in a lawsuit and probably a settlement for less. But I expect that to impact executive hiring. As for hiring peons, it's hard to say. A bigger factor (IMHO) is Elon himself. Fans will probably go there. Tho…

Frankly I am pretty sure there is a long list of talented execs who don't care how Parag was fired and would love to work for Musk.

He's too successful now with too many fans for this to have an impact. People know he demands a lot and can do crazy things. That's just part of the package.

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