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Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

riotgames.com

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Re: Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

#11

Post by resolutebat »

stg22 wrote: post #6
opisthenar84 wrote: post #3

A seemingly common theme through all these layoffs is that engineers are less impacted than other orgs.

In general, the more direct the impact of your role on short-term revenue, the safer you are when your company starts sacrificing people to the gods of quarterly accounts. Ancillary service workers always get hit badly, but good salespersons are often safer than good engineers.

Only if their salesperson manages to hit their number very quarter without fail. I've seen people blow their quota out of the water in Q1, and get shitcanned when Q2 is quiet.

Re: Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

#12

Post by resolutebat »

smt88 wrote: post #8
opisthenar84 wrote: post #3

A seemingly common theme through all these layoffs is that engineers are less impacted than other orgs.

This is true with all layoffs. If you can't explain your direct role in creating your product/service, you're going to be higher on the chopping block. Sales, marketing, HR, admins, PMs, etc. are usually the first to go because they don't "keep the lights on" and it's hard to measure their impact. While it's true that it's also hard to measure a single engineer's impact, it's scarier to fire someone who may be expens…

Sales does not belong on that list, since their impact is the easiest of all to measure ($$$).

Also, top-down layoffs tend to target expensive staff with large paychecks, without accounting for institutional knowledge or intangible value delivered.

Re: Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

#16

Post by MaxHoppersGhost »

wildknocker wrote: post #7

> This isn’t to appease shareholders or to hit a quarterly earnings number—it’s a necessity. I smell BS

Everyone overhired the last 3 years thinking the good times were forever. They’re probably overloaded with roles they don’t need anymore and have needs in other places so it really doesn’t make sense to keep folks.

Re: Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

#17

Post by MaxHoppersGhost »

smt88 wrote: post #8
opisthenar84 wrote: post #3

A seemingly common theme through all these layoffs is that engineers are less impacted than other orgs.

This is true with all layoffs. If you can't explain your direct role in creating your product/service, you're going to be higher on the chopping block. Sales, marketing, HR, admins, PMs, etc. are usually the first to go because they don't "keep the lights on" and it's hard to measure their impact. While it's true that it's also hard to measure a single engineer's impact, it's scarier to fire someone who may be expens…

For enterprise SaaS companies sales is one of the most important roles, tied with engineering. Especially if your engineering org/product is weak.

Re: Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

#19

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

resolutebat wrote: post #11
stg22 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, the more direct the impact of your role on short-term revenue, the safer you are when your company starts sacrificing people to the gods of quarterly accounts. Ancillary service workers always get hit badly, but good salespersons are often safer than good engineers.

Only if their salesperson manages to hit their number very quarter without fail. I've seen people blow their quota out of the water in Q1, and get shitcanned when Q2 is quiet.

That is exactly what sales is like, and it has been like that, for as long as I can remember.

However, good salespeople can make a lot of money.

Re: Changes at Riot Games and the road ahead

#20

Post by ocdtrekkie »

joshuamcginnis wrote: post #15

Minimum six months severance pay + healthcare + cash bonus. That is incredibly generous all things considered.

Yeah to be honest, a half-year sabbatical with time to job hunt non-frantically is a luxury I've never had. I love my current job, but I would probably look at a half year severance like a vacation.
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