How has the Database Engineering team faring? Looks like RocksDB is still being updated regularly which is a good sign.
It’s a good question but my sense is that database engineering is pretty damn critical for Meta.
Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
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Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#32Last time they did a big layoff the stock went up.. so I guess keep firing people as long as the stock keeps going up is the plan for say people who own lots of the stock.. I wonder who might benefit?
> I wonder who might benefit? The shareholders, for whose purpose the business exists, are the ones who will benefit, and they deserve to. Don't forget that most of the employees are also shareholders and most of them make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the stock. It sucks that people get laid off, but a large portion of the employees were lucky to be hired in the first place, because of the crazy growt…
Perhaps. I'd take this as a signal that the company has no big innovation happening, and is a negative signal for the medium to long term.
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#33Last time they did a big layoff the stock went up.. so I guess keep firing people as long as the stock keeps going up is the plan for say people who own lots of the stock.. I wonder who might benefit?
Stock goes up when costs are reduced. If there's a major outage due to structural weakness (as a result of layoffs), then the stock crashes down.
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#34Zuck: “I take full responsibility this time too!”
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Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Engineers vocally advocated for hiring more people because they have “too much work”. Engineers are on the interview panels and so are also responsible for hiring standards to drop (if, in fact, that is true).
There’s always more work to be done. Doesn’t mean it’s worth doing.
Facebook went through some really massive, traumatic growth and the amount of work increased far faster than hiring or engineering could keep up. This left scars on the organization—better to have too many engineers than too few, the wisdom went.
During this period of growth, the “more work” that needed to be done really was critical. It just isn’t critical any more.
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#36In our large company, we often had a consulting firm that advised us in difficult times. Bottom line, they said that they think the company needs to deeply breath out and then breathe in again. After the severance payments, we were always urgently looking for people.
For me, that was always proof that the managers had failed. But a disproportionately small number of managers had to leave the company.
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#37Last time they did a big layoff the stock went up.. so I guess keep firing people as long as the stock keeps going up is the plan for say people who own lots of the stock.. I wonder who might benefit?
Stock goes up when costs are reduced. If there's a major outage due to structural weakness (as a result of layoffs), then the stock crashes down.
Board members who are at the whims of the holders of their stonks will ebb and flow with the wishes of those who need more ROI during an oncoming recession. Another way to put it: a lot more people will be laid off and that will continue until the underlying product is harmed. But what is the underlying product? Besides sharing photos on Instagram, I don't personally hear or know about any mass adoption of Meta wares.
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#38How has the Database Engineering team faring? Looks like RocksDB is still being updated regularly which is a good sign.
It’s a good question but my sense is that database engineering is pretty damn critical for Meta.
As a common Software Engineer, I see my type of position as transient, whereas those database guys, the ones who make sure all the guts run, all that crazy shit, they're needed night and day. They can fire me and hire a version of me the next day, but the people next to the bare metal seem to have a lot more stored in their brain than can be easily replicated with the next recruit.
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Stock goes up when costs are reduced. If there's a major outage due to structural weakness (as a result of layoffs), then the stock crashes down.
Board members who are at the whims of the holders of their stonks will ebb and flow with the wishes of those who need more ROI during an oncoming recession. Another way to put it: a lot more people will be laid off and that will continue until the underlying product is harmed. But what is the underlying product? Besides sharing photos on Instagram, I don't personally hear or know about any mass adoption of Meta wares…
Is WhatsApp not on your list of mass adoption?
Re: Meta reportedly plans more job cuts
#40I believe this should send a message to the remaining employees to improve morale or get out.
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