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Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

theguardian.com

151–160 of 203 posts

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. The 10b5-1 schedule is a layer of misdirection, but the executives still have their hands firmly on the levers of price manipulation.

There is no way to know what effect a layoff will have on stock price in advance. This sale would have happened in the exact same way if the stock had tanked after the layoff.

> There is no way to know what effect a layoff will have on stock price in advance

Sure, but looking at precedent gives you info to make a good bet- the last 2 Spotify layoffs this year each caused their stock to jump.

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#152
The takes in this thread are incredibly poor. They’re poorly informed, they are often contradictory, they are frequently some weird antiwork spillover or something? Bizarre.

Basically, if you are interested in actually understanding this, don’t look to the top comments here. Wow.

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no way to know what effect a layoff will have on stock price in advance. This sale would have happened in the exact same way if the stock had tanked after the layoff.

> There is no way to know what effect a layoff will have on stock price in advance Sure, but looking at precedent gives you info to make a good bet- the last 2 Spotify layoffs this year each caused their stock to jump.

Sure. It's possible he decided he wanted to use a layoff as a way to make a gamble on the stock price before a scheduled sale.

However there is no actual evidence of this, so let's be careful about breaking out the pitchforks. This sale would have happened even if the stock tanked 50%.

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#154
post #16

[flagged]

I grew up in communist USSR. You have no idea how grotesque things can be without a free market.

This argument is basically "I let them shoot me in the leg because they also had a rocket launcher and I know that hurts"

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#155
post #63
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He can sell his shares when he feels like it He, in fact, cannot. As a C level executive he is going to trade on a 10b5-1 schedule.

Individuals trading on a 10b5-1 schedule have a lot of input on that schedule.

Months or years in advance. Yes.

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#156
post #39

It’s kind of weird to see people want to work at big corporations but then act surprised or salty about layoffs. It’s nothing personal. You’re a line number even if you’re some leet coder. It’s a business, and it’s a strategy game of utilizing resources. You might have 400k TC but you’re not god you’re a resource. If you think these things aren’t fair or suck, then you should try to move out of the leet coder path an…

Additionally, HR (Human Resources) reports to the CFO in most companies.

All you have to do is look at the org chart to understand that HR is a function within finance, and everything within finance is about numbers, resources (including human resources).

HR and Finance people think about data and make decisions in spreadsheets. No emotion. They also realize they'll be rewarded (via stock market, or investors) by doing things that are best for their business (according to their spreadsheets..), even if it might create a temporary PR issue or temporary morale issue.

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say "Only then", but in the US these failures already were being addressed (see: New Deal) until they were pulled back in the 80s. I think people are rightly frustrated by this.

If people looked at a graph of their real income and wealth over time, they'd be delighted, not frustrated

Wealthy people would be, yes of course, but what about the vast majority whose wages have stagnated since then?

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/07/for-most-...

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#158
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, so if he sells regularly and is in charge of decisions that affect the price - what difference does your justification make?

He is not omniscient. He doesn't know what effect layoffs will have on stock price.

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Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#159
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it’s not. This is nihilism. Growing food and bringing it to you is one example of millions. And no it doesn’t “harm the environment” to dig a potato out of the ground every year or whatever.

Growing food absolutely harms the environment. Maybe not one potato, but modern agriculture is a leading cause of climate change (mostly animal ag, but the point remains). This is not nihilism. This is what capitalism is by definition. Says Rob Urie: > Economic production that produces toxic externalities like global warming, dead oceans, undrinkable water, unbreathable air, etc, depends on assigning little or no val…

So we agree. Maybe not one potato.

Sure there are things that you can do while growing food that do harm the environment, and certainly modern agriculture could be improved.

But since we’ve found an example inconsistent with your blanket statement (which starts with “all”) it is now disproven.

There’s a lot of other examples besides one potato.

And let’s not even talk about the ludicrous idea that any change to the environment equals harm. By that definition all living things harm the environment.

Re: Spotify CFO cashes in £7.2M in shares after value surges on news of job cuts

#160
post #98
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you think these things aren’t fair or suck, then you should try to move out of the leet coder path and get on the capital owner or business operator side. You could also try to improve society. People don’t have to just take it, they can fight back. All power comes from the consent of the masses, none of these guys have the physical power to compel any of us to do anything at all, including let them live. Look w…

Why don’t you try to change society then? Honest question why do people always want someone else to do it? Go start a business with your friends who think same way. See if you can build a business that can take care of its employees and do something good. You could change your own life and that of your colleagues. Never go public, and you don’t have any pressure to grow at all costs. Don’t take on debt. Oh right. It’…

> Why don’t you try to change society then?

I do try to change society.

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