Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week • Hacker News Board

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#261

Post by MuffinFlavored » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 4:35 PM UTC

blowski wrote: post #55

frozenport wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2022 their core business made 27 billion with 5 billion revenue if advertising income falls by ~12% ((27-24)/27) they are no longer profitable. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A421/production/... Haven't touched their platforms for years. User base in the USA keeps declining. They need to cut expenses.

In Q3 2022 they made about $4.4B net profit on revenues of $27B. Across the whole of 2022, it was $23B net profit on $117B revenue. Not sure what you mean by “core business”. About 97% ($113B) of their revenue comes from advertising on Facebook, and half of that is in the US.

> Across the whole of 2022, it was $23B net profit on $117B revenue.

I'm not sure why who you were responding to assumed that if revenue dropped by 12%, profit would go to 0...

Wouldn't it be:

$117b revenue = $23b profit = 19.6% profit margin

If revenue went down 12%, margins would probably stay the same?

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#262

Post by barbazoo » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 4:36 PM UTC

kjok wrote: post #253

jackmott42 wrote: post #159

Back in ~2016 I deleted my Facebook account, because it was a horrible place that brought out the worst in people. A few days ago someone alerted me that my account was live again and posting weight loss scams. So I logged in and changed my password and deleted my account again. Facebook tells you that it will take 30 days to delete your account. This is obviously user hostile bullshit. Meanwhile somehow the scammer…

> Everyone should quit, get ahead of the layoffs, useless company. Your work there makes the world a worse place. You can do better. This is everything I wanted to say about FB. Always wondered why so many talented folks (with PhDs) choose to work there.

People will say it's their compensation but there are many many places that pay well that don't make the world a shittier place. One doesn't have to sell their soul to the highest bidder.

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#263

Post by haliskerbas » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 4:37 PM UTC

lisasays wrote: post #222

par wrote: post #206

Gotta be honest, as someone working at Meta right now, every week to hear rumors and 'articles' about being laid off, it sucks. :(

Then again - after years of pulling down ridiculously inflated salaries, and under management that is objectively delusional - you all knew this was coming, right?

I'm jealous as well, but it's a shit time in the industry and economy to be laid off. Losing a job is tough. The affected people are likely just ICs, same as most of us here, clocking in and trying to feed their families and have a comfortable life. Let's have some empathy for each other.

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#264

Post by barbazoo » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 4:38 PM UTC

blue039 wrote: post #259

naraga wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%. after all the evil they did in the world i dont understand how are they able to retain so much talent working for them. do people dont give a f* about their impact to the world? many shake their heads after someone exposes engineering team working in rusian army configuring Iskanders yet the same people work for facebook that spreads worst dissinfos, sells user data and basically plays parts in genocides.

People have to eat. Maslow's hierarchy of needs and all that. Fact of the matter is Meta has problems almost no one else has. Acting like people will choose less pay and boring work over interesting work and more pay on a moral basis is a little naive. But I see you apparently have a political axe to grind. Meta is not a morally acceptable place to work I agree. However, if you were offered 350,000 USD to work on som…

> Acting like people will choose less pay and boring work over interesting work and more pay on a moral basis is a little naive.

That's a bit simplistic. There is plenty of well paid meaningful or at least less destructive work than working for FB.

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#265

Post by deltree7 » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 4:59 PM UTC

edgyquant wrote: post #219

ulfw wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why did he hire so many people if he wants to run a flat org at "closer to startup velocity (and cost)"? Wasn't he the one in charge since oh... I dunno... Day 1?

People make mistakes

Exactly! If you look at HN comments you'd think they all live this perfect life, never introduce bugs in their software, never make poor financial decisions (including mistakes of omissions).

The whole comment section becomes a cesspool whenever Meta/Mark or Elon is discussed

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#266

Post by hef19898 » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 5:00 PM UTC

registeredcorn wrote: post #220

hef19898 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In which case Meat got, best case, competent people. Since those people started from scratch in an organization that never did what those new folks planned to do, as an organization Meta was still incompetent in that field compared to others. Now, being Meta and having all those new people, and the budget, could have built a proper org for hardware. Something that would require quite a cultural change so. And that la…

I formally propose facebook's new name to be "Meat". :)

Damn, I didn't catch that until your comment!

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#267

Post by HDThoreaun » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 5:00 PM UTC

red-iron-pine wrote: post #190

Traubenfuchs wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people would say they HATE this future, but most people would LOVE this future. As passive infotainment consumers, stereotypical scroolers, they are already glued to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, reddit and whatever other digital dopamine dispenser and skinner box there. Significantly improve on that with pleasant, increased or even full immersion and you got the next big thing.

...they say, posting on HN, a slightly watered down dopamine dispenser brought to you by the people that made Reddit happen. I still think VR might be a hard sell for most people. As dumb as large groups of people may be, it's clear that people are ditching FB and slowly backing away from a lot of social media. It's tricking out that it's not always a great thing, and there is legit buy-in from huge chunks of the Lef…

It's really not clear that people are ditching FB. They showed 20% more ads last quarter than in the quarter the year before.

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#268

Post by megaman8 » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 5:03 PM UTC

naraga wrote: post #231

jackmott42 wrote: post #159

Back in ~2016 I deleted my Facebook account, because it was a horrible place that brought out the worst in people. A few days ago someone alerted me that my account was live again and posting weight loss scams. So I logged in and changed my password and deleted my account again. Facebook tells you that it will take 30 days to delete your account. This is obviously user hostile bullshit. Meanwhile somehow the scammer…

100%. after all the evil they did in the world i dont understand how are they able to retain so much talent working for them. do people dont give a f* about their impact to the world? many shake their heads after someone exposes engineering team working in rusian army configuring Iskanders yet the same people work for facebook that spreads worst dissinfos, sells user data and basically plays parts in genocides.

i really don't understand why people don't like facebook. they're no worse than apple or your ISP (now they're truely evil).

dissinfo? just unusubscribe or don't follow that account? do you really want facebook censoring everything you can see or don't see based on political correctness? or some other filter?

and how is it "selling user data". I've always found this to be wholly inaccurate. it's targetted advertisement. do you really prefer untargetted advertising?

I'm no facebook fanboy. personally i don't use it much. i've read articles on the matter but they never make any sense. Is there an article somewhere that explains all the vitriol towards facebook, because i really don't get it.

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#269

Post by isk517 » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 5:04 PM UTC

qwytw wrote: post #224

brianshaler wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's easy with the benefit of hindsight to say a bold investment that didn't pan out was a crazy move. In this case, it was also easy to say it was a dumb idea contemporaneously.

Unless you were the one of the people saying that this was a dumb idea from the beginning. IIRC there were quite a few people who thought that.

I think you missed the joke, the first line says it was a bad idea in hindsight, the second line says it was also a pretty bad idea in foresight.

Re: Meta plans thousands more layoffs as soon as this week

#270

Post by hdjjhhvvhga » Tue, Mar 07, 2023, 5:05 PM UTC

ChatGTP wrote: post #254

anthomtb wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instagram will feed you more of whatever you are following or tapping. I have noticed that if I don't use Instagram for a few days I end up with generic, lowest-common-denominator videos. Scantily clad females, bar fights, car accidents, etc. But if I start seeking out and watching the stuff I actually like, the feed updates itself within a day or two and I get content that I actually want to watch.

I just can't be bothered seeking out "stuff I like" on Instagram anymore, mostly I've seen it before etc, just feeling like I have better things to do lately. If I actually want to "watch" something, I open Youtube, seems to me like the content on there is 10x better. Each to their own.

I feel exactly the same. Maybe it's just a stage in one's life?