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Plaid Layoffs

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Re: Plaid Layoffs

#131

Post by [deleted] »

hinkley wrote: post #112
bobmaxup wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which means if anyone says they take full responsibility, they’re either saying “I’m a big fat narcissist” or that they imprinted on narcissists, so all of their mentors were. Kind of a stretch, no?

Grandparent talks about how taking responsibility means nothing. That’s what I was referring to. When’s the last time you saw someone actually take responsibility? When it’s a teen pregnancy or injuring a pedestrian, we know what “taking responsibility” means. For layoffs there are no actions, no alteration of life paths. Even the money for severance really comes out of someone else’s pockets. It means nothing for th…

[deleted]

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#133

Post by [deleted] »

xivzgrev wrote: post #102
dougmwne wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And BTW, I take full responsibility for everything, which means nothing.

To me it means something. To write to the world that you made a mistake and you were responsible takes courage. It may lead to change. It may not. But it’s important part of normal apologies. I suspect what you are missing is specific action - what is this person specifically going to do differently?

[deleted]

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#134

Post by oytis »

jacobmarble wrote: post #59
monero-xmr wrote: post #19

Dear Floofernistas, This is the hardest thing I have ever done. The market changed - I thought we would make more money, now I think we will make less money. Therefore we have discovered that we don't need all of you. If you aren't needed, here is some money. I hope this is enough money that the internet isn't too mad at me. Remaining Floofernistas, please be kind to the ex-Floofernistas, and help them. Again, I am s…

Is it the company's responsibility to employ people until it runs out of money? Are you certain that "here is some money" is just to keep the internet anger at bay? Do companies exist to protect their employees, or to provide something useful for their customers?

I dunno, all these companies probably hope to return to growth trajectories soon-ish. It's not like a manufacturer who discovers that the world needs less of what it produces, so decides to downscale permanently - growth is everything for software companies. Meaning if they have enough runway, they might as well keep people employed during droughts and have them develop what is expected to create value after drought is gone. But it requires long-term thinking.

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#135

Post by stu2b50 »

nine_zeros wrote: post #97
boringg wrote: post #70

I get that layoffs seriously are terrible but a lot of these tech companies are providing some pretty seriously nice exit packages. I fail to understand the amount of acid in the comment thread? Layoffs suck, corporate speak is always cringey. What would people want as alternatives outside perfectly executed business plans that don't have layoffs? Handheld individual exit goodbye packages? Im seriously asking for leg…

> Im seriously asking for legit solutions. A few months of director+ level pay cut before layoffs. A few C-level folks taking pay and stock cut to retain employees before layoffs. When layoffs come, fire the bad decision makers before rank and file.

That wouldn’t accomplish anything but symbolically (which some companies have done, eg Chesky reducing his salary to 0 during the AirBnB layoffs). In the end director+ level comp is a drop in the bucket to the bottom line. It buys no time.

Always firing the CEO when they make bets that don’t turn out just causes corporate stagnation since executives will always take the safe option if those are the incentives.

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#136

Post by [deleted] »

dougmwne wrote: post #40
monero-xmr wrote: post #19

Dear Floofernistas, This is the hardest thing I have ever done. The market changed - I thought we would make more money, now I think we will make less money. Therefore we have discovered that we don't need all of you. If you aren't needed, here is some money. I hope this is enough money that the internet isn't too mad at me. Remaining Floofernistas, please be kind to the ex-Floofernistas, and help them. Again, I am s…

And BTW, I take full responsibility for everything, which means nothing.

[deleted]

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#137

Post by nathanaldensr »

1234letshaveatw wrote: post #72
aperson_hello wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the better response here? (Other than not over-hiring in the first place).

Certainly not referring to the people that just lost their jobs as "Plaids". Yuck

But "we're family!"

Nope; employees are just a tool to use in a branding exercise for VCs, shareholders, and Wall Street.

So glad these grifts are ending.

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#138

Post by hinkley »

[deleted] wrote: post #131
hinkley wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grandparent talks about how taking responsibility means nothing. That’s what I was referring to. When’s the last time you saw someone actually take responsibility? When it’s a teen pregnancy or injuring a pedestrian, we know what “taking responsibility” means. For layoffs there are no actions, no alteration of life paths. Even the money for severance really comes out of someone else’s pockets. It means nothing for th…

[deleted]

It’s not unheard of, but I wouldn’t say common. “Not uncommon” is not the same as common.

In any case their actions speak louder than words. They don’t need to say they take responsibility. They’ve shown that they have. In many cases they either don’t say it at all, or it doesn’t stick with us because the actions spoke louder than words.

If it’s just words then the words are what we remember.

That said, once you’re gone it’s someone else’s problem to clean up your mess. Bailing is also antisocial behavior. Not necessarily narcissistic, but not healthy.

Re: Plaid Layoffs

#139

Post by bombcar »

jacobmarble wrote: post #59
monero-xmr wrote: post #19

Dear Floofernistas, This is the hardest thing I have ever done. The market changed - I thought we would make more money, now I think we will make less money. Therefore we have discovered that we don't need all of you. If you aren't needed, here is some money. I hope this is enough money that the internet isn't too mad at me. Remaining Floofernistas, please be kind to the ex-Floofernistas, and help them. Again, I am s…

Is it the company's responsibility to employ people until it runs out of money? Are you certain that "here is some money" is just to keep the internet anger at bay? Do companies exist to protect their employees, or to provide something useful for their customers?

There are some privately owned companies (maybe some public benefit companies) that have done things other than layoffs - some have take "universal paycuts until business improves" - instead of laying off 10% everyone takes a 10% paycut (sometimes management/owner takes more).

Those companies are usually very quiet and not in the news. Others have so much "normal churn" that they can do effectively a layoff by just slowing hiring.

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