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Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

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Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#331

Post by zwaps »

tombert wrote: post #307
bluefirebrand wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone still actually have much respect for executive levels of big corporations? All I ever see is more and more naked greed and talking down to employees as if we are idiots that cannot see through their BS. Like all of the return to office stuff. We all know it's not about "in-person collaboration", but that's the line they think we're most likely to swallow.

I've always thought they were greedy, but one thing that these recent layoffs have really illuminated for me was how utterly stupid these executives are. I guess I had just assumed that Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai were smart guys...why else would they be in charge of these huge corporations? But then the layoffs happened, and they both gave a big song and dance about how they're "taking responsibility" (whatever…

What makes you say it was a bad idea? Why do you think it didn't work out exactly as planned?

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#332

Post by throw9away6 »

lumost wrote: post #306
paulpauper wrote: post #302

For the quarter that ended on March 31, Microsoft posted revenue of $52.9 billion (up 7%) and a profit of $18.3 billion (up 9%). Microsoft had $26.5 billion in cash and equivalents as of March 31. Despite the rosy results, Microsoft employees are not getting pay increases. Nadella's own pay increased 10% from 2021 to 2022, rising to $55 million. This comes off as shortsighted. If I wanted to optimize value, I would o…

The economy is unstable, meaning we may only make 5% more profit next year. Layoffs and pay freezes will continue. There are two ways this pans out. Either big tech is bloated, and wages will fall over time - or current big-techs will flounder as smaller firms out compete them. This happened to HP/IBM and others, why would Google or Microsoft be immune?

Wages can simply stay flat and that’s a 5% decrease due to inflation

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#334

Post by tombert »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #320
tombert wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always thought they were greedy, but one thing that these recent layoffs have really illuminated for me was how utterly stupid these executives are. I guess I had just assumed that Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai were smart guys...why else would they be in charge of these huge corporations? But then the layoffs happened, and they both gave a big song and dance about how they're "taking responsibility" (whatever…

> why else would they be in charge of these huge corporations? I think this is the real key. Why are these people in charge of these huge corporations? In a world with 8 billion people they cannot be uniquely qualified for those positions, so why them and why not someone else? Nowadays I always just assume they're someone's buddy.

Yep, I'm basically in the same boat.

Satya Nadella has made it abundantly clear that he's a moron, or at the very least a gambling addict. Does it really make sense for him to be in charge of a company that is worth almost as much as the nominal GDP of Africa [1] [2]?

[1] https://companiesmarketcap.com/microsoft/marketcap/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Africa

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#335

Post by WalterBright »

whitemary wrote: post #325
paulpauper wrote: post #302

For the quarter that ended on March 31, Microsoft posted revenue of $52.9 billion (up 7%) and a profit of $18.3 billion (up 9%). Microsoft had $26.5 billion in cash and equivalents as of March 31. Despite the rosy results, Microsoft employees are not getting pay increases. Nadella's own pay increased 10% from 2021 to 2022, rising to $55 million. This comes off as shortsighted. If I wanted to optimize value, I would o…

> It's not even a political issue. Just a matter of decency and fairness. That's precisely what they want you to keep believing. The truth is every single aspect of every employee/employer relationship is political, and always has been. If you don't accept it, your children won't have a choice to.

> The truth is every single aspect of every employee/employer relationship is political

Employees are hired in order to create value for the company. Employees get jobs in order to get paid in exchange for that contributed value.

It's not political. It's the Law of Supply & Demand. Employer and employee cooperate for mutual benefit.

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#336

Post by gymbeaux »

tombert wrote: post #334
bluefirebrand wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why else would they be in charge of these huge corporations? I think this is the real key. Why are these people in charge of these huge corporations? In a world with 8 billion people they cannot be uniquely qualified for those positions, so why them and why not someone else? Nowadays I always just assume they're someone's buddy.

Yep, I'm basically in the same boat. Satya Nadella has made it abundantly clear that he's a moron, or at the very least a gambling addict. Does it really make sense for him to be in charge of a company that is worth almost as much as the nominal GDP of Africa [1] [2]? [1] https://companiesmarketcap.com/microsoft/marketcap/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Africa

Gambling addict?

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#337

Post by gymbeaux »

djha-skin wrote: post #312
king_magic wrote: post #271

Pretty impossible to respect a CEO that takes a 10% bump but cuts off raises for everyone else. Honestly, just disgusting.

This is unfortunately Misjournalism. The article states that the CEO took a 10% raise last year. The article further states that that employees up and down the whole company were getting huge raises last year in an effort to increase the company's approval rating with its own employees. He got a huge raise last year because lots of people got a huge raise last year. Presumably then he won't get a raise this year alon…

He’ll either get a raise or a performance bonus

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#339

Post by tombert »

zwaps wrote: post #331
tombert wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always thought they were greedy, but one thing that these recent layoffs have really illuminated for me was how utterly stupid these executives are. I guess I had just assumed that Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai were smart guys...why else would they be in charge of these huge corporations? But then the layoffs happened, and they both gave a big song and dance about how they're "taking responsibility" (whatever…

What makes you say it was a bad idea? Why do you think it didn't work out exactly as planned?

I mean, it feels almost self-evident that you shouldn't hire more people than you need; if you don't need them then that's not an efficient use of resources.

Now, it's possible they hired all these people in anticipation of future needs, which is fair, but it doesn't take a hyper-genius to know that markets fluctuate, particularly after a global pandemic.

So at this point, either Satya Nadella is so stupid that he didn't know that markets tend to fluctuate, or he's gambling with human lives.

Re: Microsoft Freezes Salaries for 2023

#340

Post by srj »

Firmwarrior wrote: post #308

Man oh man. Microsoft really just has no interest in keeping motivated and talented people around. The brain drain is going to ramp up even more from here If you're still at MSFT: do yourself a favor and jump ship. It's a good job, but there are even better jobs out there. Just tell the recruiter when you get your new job offer that you've been drinking $5,000 a year's worth of free soda, and you'll need them to matc…

There have been so many layoffs that there is a glut of software engineers looking for jobs. The company's leadership knows that now, with labor supply up, they don't need to pay people the compensation they're currently paying. This is a way of reducing pay in real terms while not taking the more dramatic step of cutting wages.

If things turn around again hopefully people remember this. This wasn't a shared hardship between leadership and the line engineers.

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