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Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

polygon.com

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Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#31

Post by toomuchtodo »

iisan7 wrote: post #26
toomuchtodo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Higher level, this is why I support employees unionizing. Yes, it is not lolipops and rainbows. Yes, there is a change in dynamic. But if we're going to accept corporations are okay to act as psychopaths, then labor should organize to be the lawnmower the same way tech folks joke about Oracle. The knife should cut both ways. Otherwise, management and shareholders are just going to keep operating in this manner and tr…

A union wouldn't push to move layoffs to January, they would push to prevent layoffs at all. Which is maybe what you're advocating, but not what the parent post was saying.

If you give me two shitty options, I will propose an option not presented. Perhaps layoffs are inevitable (unsustainable business, for example, no way you can outrun negative cashflow sometimes), in which case very reasonable packages could be provided. There is no obligation today for that action. You overleveraged the business? You're getting fired, shares are going to zero, but the people who work for you aren't going to sitting at home crying through the holidays waiting for the job market to spin up in January. We might even claw some comp back if at all possible. Leaders eat last.

Note that GM cried in public they could not afford the UAW's demands, and once they agreed to said demands, they still did a $10B share buyback. Boo hoo. I'm simply tired of psychopaths in positions of power in the labor market.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/29/business/gm-lavishes-sharehol...

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#32

Post by azinman2 »

ryandrake wrote: post #24
Macha wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's easy to view it this way when you're a highly paid software worker, but the average worker in a plastic toy or board game factory is unlikely to have much runway so pretty much needs to start searching immediately with news like that. Factory workers also are not going to be getting the kind of severance packages software devs get.

> Factory workers also are not going to be getting the kind of severance packages software devs get. We get severance packages?

Most companies do with mass layoffs, yes.

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#33

Post by Macha »

no_wizard wrote: post #2

My heart goes out to those affected. Thats very rough. I know this isn't directly related to the article at hand or anything either, but I feel like I'm seeing a real uptick in November / December layoffs. Is it just me or was it really not a thing companies did with such frequency around the holidays? I feel like its as much a shedding of costs as it is a flex of big business trying to show strength because they all…

Video games are a better market than toys for children, sure, but it still doesn't feel like a reliable bet for Hasbro to get into.

Particularly the mention of video game licensing rather than development just screams execs amazed at how well that did, but I think they're overestimating how much they can make that repeatable. What with Pathfinder and Divinity games having laid the foundation for a CRPG comeback, Baldur's Gate 2 being one of those games still talked about nearly 25 years later, the wave of growth TTRPGs and derivatives got over the pandemic (see also the critical role amazon shows), there was a lot weighing in favour of BG3 that I don't think is repeatable on a more frequent basis. Not to mention Hasbro being relatively hands off and probably having forgotten they licensed it out.

I think Hasbro think they're going to knock out Baldur Gate 3's and that it was their brand that provided all the value so they can charge the next people more, and maybe stuff it full of microtransactions. But I think much more likely is an outcome like the opening of Warhammer, a bunch of "ehh, it did ok I guess" mid tier games, and if they try to extract too much value from it they'll crush it.

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#34

Post by dragonwriter »

maximilianroos wrote: post #12

Getting laid off in December is tough. But it's better than getting laid off in January after coming back to work from holidays, with plans for the year ahead. At least this way, folks can recuperate with their family, and then hit the job market in January. Or do others disagree?

As a high-paid tech worker with the savings that are likely when you have that kind of income, maybe.

Most of the people impacted by this aren't high-paid tech workers.

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#35

Post by ryandrake »

no_wizard wrote: post #17
cuongfu wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if it's companies trying to inflate their year-end numbers to appease shareholders. I agree that it feels like more layoffs this month than I expected, but none of them are necessarily due to 'market conditions' per se, like the layoffs that happened at the end of last year and earlier this year. Spotify and Hasbro seem like they just made bad investments and focused on the wrong areas for their business and…

A completely unenforcable concept, but an interesting thought exercise: if executives (and with that, SVP/VPs) were as likely to experience the recieving end of a layoff the same as those below them on the org chart, how would that affect how often they happen in the first place? For instance, if the VPs and SVPs in charge of the toy division were guaranteed to be part of the layoff, do you think the calculus would h…

I mean, of course. A lot of things would happen differently in business if the decision makers shared consequences and downside with the worker bees. Our system unfortunately is set up such that the executive class reaps the majority of the rewards and upside, while the workers primarily shoulder the downside.

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#36

Post by namdnay »

Macha wrote: post #19
maximilianroos wrote: post #12

Getting laid off in December is tough. But it's better than getting laid off in January after coming back to work from holidays, with plans for the year ahead. At least this way, folks can recuperate with their family, and then hit the job market in January. Or do others disagree?

It's easy to view it this way when you're a highly paid software worker, but the average worker in a plastic toy or board game factory is unlikely to have much runway so pretty much needs to start searching immediately with news like that. Factory workers also are not going to be getting the kind of severance packages software devs get.

I doubt Hasbro employ any factory workers, they’ll all be working for suppliers in China

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#37

Post by mhink »

maximilianroos wrote: post #12

Getting laid off in December is tough. But it's better than getting laid off in January after coming back to work from holidays, with plans for the year ahead. At least this way, folks can recuperate with their family, and then hit the job market in January. Or do others disagree?

The way I see it, if you're gonna have to tighten your belt during the holidays, it's probably best to know about it sooner rather than later. By early December, people have likely already made plans for the holidays, which can easily include things that can't easily be changed (like expensive travel to go see family). Of course, that argument still applies if you're having layoffs in mid-January (right after people have done their holiday spending).

But I think it makes more sense if you look at it like this: some people feel like the holidays are already stressful enough, others feel like it's a time to be able to relax and refocus away from work. Having layoffs right at this point in time makes things even more stressful for the first group, and ruins the holiday for the second group. And in both cases, if you have layoffs in January, those affected can hit the ground running immediately rather than waiting for the New Year.

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#38

Post by bdcravens »

maximilianroos wrote: post #12

Getting laid off in December is tough. But it's better than getting laid off in January after coming back to work from holidays, with plans for the year ahead. At least this way, folks can recuperate with their family, and then hit the job market in January. Or do others disagree?

I don't have kids, but I can imagine watching them open their presents on Christmas morning with doubt about what the next year of birthdays and Christmas will be like must be gut-wrenching.

Re: Hasbro lays off nearly 20% of its workers

#39

Post by peer2pay »

maximilianroos wrote: post #12

Getting laid off in December is tough. But it's better than getting laid off in January after coming back to work from holidays, with plans for the year ahead. At least this way, folks can recuperate with their family, and then hit the job market in January. Or do others disagree?

Hard disagree. I’d imagine the average worker affected here doesn’t get to 'recuperate with their family' but rather have to look for a job over the holidays while trying to keep up a facade for kids & family.

And it’s not like finding a job while everyone else is off is easy either.

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