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Layoffs at Block

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Re: Layoffs at Block

#271

Post by mempko »

borroka wrote: post #156

Anyone who has worked in the big tech industry knows that probably more than half of the workforce performs tasks that, in essence, are superfluous. But these things happened: 1) Musk has shown that Twitter can operate with 5% (approximately?) of the workforce he inherited; 2) laying off a lot of people was seen as a sign that the company was in trouble, but not now because; 3) artificial intelligence makes point 2)…

Excuse me for making some pretty sharp statements. Twitter is objectively a worse product now. Musk is a deeply uncreative person who doesn't seem to actually like people and attracts people to him that are the same way. This shows in his truly uninspired products. Tesla is way behind the Chinese now. xAI is a copy cat. SpaceX seems to be taking old Soviet ideas. Musk I go on?

Re: Layoffs at Block

#272

Post by willio58 »

htrp wrote: post #5

>we're not making this decision because we're in trouble. our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed. we're already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build an…

> i'd rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold.

So deeply ironic considering he claims he’s doing this because AI can do the jobs these people did.

These billionaires will learn one day that removing humans doesn’t stop at the bottom layer. It’ll continue to happen at layers above until their own position starts to be put into question. They’ll realize those people who are removed due to AI taking their jobs still need to put food on their tables. It’ll take time, but ultimately there are only so many ways that can go. The answer will be extreme taxation on the billionaires.

Re: Layoffs at Block

#273

Post by paxys »

rco8786 wrote: post #245
daxfohl wrote: post #48

We'll see how much the AI aspect is true by whether they're thinning out teams equally, or just axing whole initiatives. My impression of Block was that it was mostly a one-trick pony (okay, two if you include CashApp) with a bunch of side initiatives that never seemed to pan out, so I'm expecting it to be more of the latter, with this being more of an admission that they're now in "maintenance mode". Either way, I t…

> My impression of Block was that it was mostly a one-trick pony (okay, two if you include CashApp) with a bunch of side initiatives that never seemed to pan out, I worked at Block for ~6.5 years up until 2024. This is mostly correct. They were the first to market for portable CC readers, and segued that into "high tech" POS systems which, to be fair, were significantly better than the available alternatives at the t…

Exactly. Square was the first great checkout system, but now a decade and a half later every other system is good enough that retailers aren't going to pay extra for a flashier app.

Re: Layoffs at Block

#274

Post by dzonga »

this is brutal. :(

my mentor was on the chopping block too.

block btw now makes most of its money on bitcoin transactions not software

Re: Layoffs at Block

#275

Post by johnnienaked »

simianwords wrote: post #163
MeetingsBrowser wrote: post #102

I don't understand anyone who says layoffs are due to improvements in AI tooling. "Thanks to LLMs, each worker can do twice the work they could before. Naturally we are firing half the company because ... business is good and ... too much productivity is bad?"

> Thanks to LLMs, each worker can do twice the work they could before. Naturally we are firing half the company because ... business is good and ... too much productivity is bad this is an incorrect take. The company needs a certain amount of productivity at each point. If not, how would you explain that they had only 10,000 employees and not 20,000? They could still remain profitable. LLM's increased productivity an…

"they should not have had 12,000 to begin with"

Nailed it

Re: Layoffs at Block

#276

Post by kevinfiol »

rappatic wrote: post #13

i'm gonna write this terrible news in all lowercase cause it's super aesthetic. maintain a bit of professionalism for the 4,000 people whose lives i'm throwing into turmoil? i don't think so, i have my shift key taped over so i don't accidentally show respect to anybody

Ha glad to see I'm not the only one irked by that.

Re: Layoffs at Block

#277

Post by GeoAtreides »

gombosg wrote: post #194

I still don't get it. If AI really improves efficiency and allows the company's employees to produce more, better products faster and thus increase the competitiveness of a company... then why does said company fire (half of!) its staff instead of, well, producing more, better products faster, thus increasing its competitiveness? Am I naive or is AI a lie when marked as a cause? Why is it that us employees are gaslig…

Let's say AI increases productivity per capita by 50%

That means 50% of current headcount now has the same productivity as 100%

Now we calculate:

A = OPEX costs cuts by firing 50% of personal

B = Profit increase by the AI 50% productivity increase while not firing anyone

if A>B, reduce headcount

if B>A, reduce headcount and then increase workload on remaining employees until profits increase

Re: Layoffs at Block

#278

Post by compiler-guy »

jagged-chisel wrote: post #255
daxfohl wrote: post #48

We'll see how much the AI aspect is true by whether they're thinning out teams equally, or just axing whole initiatives. My impression of Block was that it was mostly a one-trick pony (okay, two if you include CashApp) with a bunch of side initiatives that never seemed to pan out, so I'm expecting it to be more of the latter, with this being more of an admission that they're now in "maintenance mode". Either way, I t…

> … using the AI to make their own lives easier rather than to work more efficiently. These are not mutually exclusive. How does making my “own [work life] easier” not translate into “work more efficiently.”

I think it is a question of who is getting the benefit of these efficiencies. If it is the worker—ie they are doing the same amount of work in less time but not making that extra time available to the company—then from the company’s perspective they aren’t being more efficient. Or at least the additional efficiency doesn’t affect it.

Re: Layoffs at Block

#279

Post by wavemode »

yogorenapan wrote: post #218
garbawarb wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To anyone who's been looking for SWE jobs lately, has this been your experience?

Wildy varies. I'm a new grad and got my first offer after 8 applications and got another offer last week unprompted. Meanwhile my friend graduating from the same university has done 300 applications and a couple dozen interviews with no offer.

What differentiates your resume from your friend's?

Re: Layoffs at Block

#280

Post by maerF0x0 »

> first off, if you're one of the people affected, you'll receive your salary for 20 weeks + 1 week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of may, 6 months of health care, your corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward whatever you need to help you in this transition (if you’re outside the U.S. you’ll receive similar support but exact details are going to vary based on local requirements). i want you to know that before anything else. everyone will be notified today, whether you're being asked to leave, entering consultation, or asked to stay.

Sounds like the perfect setup to start your own company!

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