Google to reduce workforce by 12k • Hacker News Board

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#71

Post by mk89 » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:53 AM UTC

drstewart wrote: post #10

>I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here There it is! The free bingo space

After so long, I decided to think of it differently: it's a learning company. You can eventually fix the problem you're responsible for by chopping off a part of it, convince people you can do better, and then move on. (Don't try at home!!!) :)

Now the question for all these learning companies would be: how do they prevent this from happening again? What did they learn and what are they going to do differently? I would seriously like to know.

The way I see it: right now everyone is kind of "rebalancing" their resources, but what's next? How do you prevent over-provisioning of resources (without under-provisioning)? How do you say which (internal) project is worth throwing money at and which one not?

Another question I would have is: will they stop hiring for 2023-2024? Couldn't they offer these people an alternative role internally? Maybe not all the 10000, but maybe 2000 could stay and be in the same role in other teams? Or did they do it already and those 10000 are really people that can't be placed at all internally? (Like we don't want full remote, and we're shutting down that particular office, in which case I can even understand...)

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#72

Post by mkl95 » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:53 AM UTC

sai_c wrote: post #48

Does anyone know what "Outside the US, we’ll support employees in line with local practices." exactly means? In Germany I could imagine it to be "You're fired. Go to the Arbeitsagentur and find a new job". Of course within the legal forewarning period.

At some EU countries mass layoffs at large companies follow their own process, usually with some union involved, etc.

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#73

Post by Silverback_VII » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

kmac_ wrote: post #46

Silverback_VII wrote: post #13

Well, developing AI systems which are able to replace you and your abilities was not the best idea I guess.

Wait until everyone realize there is no AI but a really large statistical string concatenate machine. Edit: I forgot /s

does it matter? it can already write computer code and will form now on only get better.

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#74

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

eCa wrote: post #51

I guess someone has to write this comment: > I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here As usual, he says nothing more what the consequences for him are. It seems like all of the FAANGs have made severe strategic cockups when it comes to hiring lately. I wonder if it will affect their longterm attraction as employers.

[deleted]

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#75

Post by monkeydust » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

This is a short-term downward adjustment to what is a long running trend of increasing demand for software professionals across every industry.

I feel private companies who don't have the play the quarterly announcement game can come out stronger given conviction in what they are doing and a strong balance sheet.

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#76

Post by Aeolun » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

I swear all these companies are just using the fact that everyone else is firing as an excuse to get rid of such a large part of their workforce.

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#77

Post by gswdh » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

eCa wrote: post #51

I guess someone has to write this comment: > I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here As usual, he says nothing more what the consequences for him are. It seems like all of the FAANGs have made severe strategic cockups when it comes to hiring lately. I wonder if it will affect their longterm attraction as employers.

[dead]

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#78

Post by joshvm » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

afandian wrote: post #9

> Pivoting the company to be AI-first years ago That seems like a weird thing to throw in there. Does anyone else read it as a hasty "we were doing AI before ChatGPT was cool"?

I'm not sure if you'd call it a pivot, but Google Brain was initially an X project that was started well before the deep learning craze took off. They hired Geoff Hinton in 2013. Investment in AI has been going on for a long time at Google, probably before Facebook/FAIR got seriously involved, but probably not Microsoft (MSR has been going for ~30 years and Chris Bishop started the Cambridge lab in '97 and they've long been known as a good ML group).

It's not like Google wasn't using ML before that either. Search, recommender systems for ads, anti-spam, translate. Deep learning just turned out to be a lot better than the tools we used to use.

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#79

Post by tigerlily » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

I wonder what they'll sunset next? Anyone got any hunches?

Re: Google to reduce workforce by 12k

#80

Post by JonChesterfield » Fri, Jan 20, 2023, 10:54 AM UTC

pepF wrote: post #36

[dead]

Your landing page is crazy. Full screen image of awkward looking people talking without audio working (tried a few things, can't get it to make a sound).

Is the product a mobile phone application that you give access to your bank and it displays the same information your bank statement does but sorted into categories?