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Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

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131–140 of 223 posts

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#131

This is why companies don't announce layoffs before they know who will be impacted, as frustrating as it can be. My morale would be in the gutter too if I had to spend a month wondering whether I'm the unlucky 1 in 10.

I survived two rounds of layoffs at a company. Each time there was a message from the CEO, and a drawn out process of learning who had kept their job and who hadn't. It was supposed to be more humane but it ended up making things much worse.

When I was finally laid off, there was no notice at all. Ripping off the band-aid was better (though it still sucked).

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at Meta (for now…) I really care about VR and had the opportunity to work at Reality Labs. They paid to relocate my family to the Bay Area, where I was able to get better medical care for an autoimmune disease. I interviewed at other companies too but it was late 2022 and hiring freezes eliminated my other opportunities. So my motivations were: - Working on something I care about - Getting to the Bay Area and…

Donating to charities or NGOs might be more harmful than anything you've ever done.

I guess you were among the ones applauding when Elon put USAID "into the woodchipper"?

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#133
This is all an interesting read from where I sit -- I worked for a global multi-national telecom that spun off from the 1996 deregulated local carrier, was bought up by a dot-com bust company, promptly went bankrupt and was sold off various times.

So ... I understand bad morale and 10% layoffs. We went from 25,000 employees (1998-1999) at peek to under 3,000 (2004ish?). I did 17 years of (at least) 10% cuts company-wide, often larger in IT, every 6-12 months.

They're going to have a problem hiring, that's certain. They seem very unconcerned with that both with the drumbeat of layoffs and the forced spyware nonsense.

I remember when things were at the worst at my company, HR did a company-wide "engagement" survey. Being in IT at the time, we worked closely with them to ensure as close to complete participation as possible. The theory behind it was that each employee (anonymous) would receive a ranking, bubbled up to segments within the company (less anonymous) and specific managers.

The reason for the rush to get this out was fraud fears. I guess that number goes low enough to represent something near "an employee who feels morally obligated to destroy the organization", but the number of employees who fit in the range of "so disengaged from the company that they are probably engaging in fraud/theft" in the trial phase was an order of magnitude higher than the team had estimated.

When things get that bad, it's tough to recover. In certain locations we had an impossible time hiring most positions -- we had a toxic reputation in a high-tech location with a lot of job openings; we were often the last choice of the worst candidates no matter what the position was.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A dumb thing Zuck said when he was in college pales in comparison to the horrible stuff he's enabled as a fully formed adult who should know better.

Yes. But there are things you say as a young person that are revealing of core personality traits. Most people would just not say that.

The child is the father of the man, as Wordsworth said.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#135
post #28
post #7

How will the people here who continuously rationalize AI rationalize this? A substantial number of the cheerleaders are financially invested in AI of course, but there are useful idiots, too. You are destroying a profession that was fun and profitable. Don't come with your Luddite and " a subset of us did it to others as well" talking points. Adding numbers wasn't fun, spreadsheets by hand weren't fun. But you are ac…

How will the people who continuously rationalize cars justify that they are destroying a profession - horse carriage driver - that was fun and profitable ? How will the people who continuously rationalize the Internet justify that they are destroying a profession - travel agents - that was fun and profitable? If we blocked every possible innovation because it lowered the fun of something existing we'd never have prog…

Help, the whigs are loose on HackerNews again! Quick, grab even a rudimentary understanding of human history. It's their one weakness.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at Meta (for now…) I really care about VR and had the opportunity to work at Reality Labs. They paid to relocate my family to the Bay Area, where I was able to get better medical care for an autoimmune disease. I interviewed at other companies too but it was late 2022 and hiring freezes eliminated my other opportunities. So my motivations were: - Working on something I care about - Getting to the Bay Area and…

Donating to charities or NGOs might be more harmful than anything you've ever done.

Fly-by snark is an interesting choice.

What were you hoping to achieve with this comment other than making a person who is being vulnerable to anonymous internet denizens feel worse?

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at Meta (for now…) I really care about VR and had the opportunity to work at Reality Labs. They paid to relocate my family to the Bay Area, where I was able to get better medical care for an autoimmune disease. I interviewed at other companies too but it was late 2022 and hiring freezes eliminated my other opportunities. So my motivations were: - Working on something I care about - Getting to the Bay Area and…

Donating to charities or NGOs might be more harmful than anything you've ever done.

If you ever actually see the work or something charities on the ground and the people they help you might change your mind very quickly. They certainly do more good than another million in some index fund.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#138
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the guy who tried to make the metaverse a thing. He has been out of touch for decades now.

He's also the guy who bought Instagram for $1bn and turned into a $70bn behemoth. If that's out of touch then I don't know what the opposite would be.

It's entirely possible that he's changed and his pulse of the market has changed in the 10+ years since that decision.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#139
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Desk and bank account" makes for a very small world. Have we shrunk? Are we dwarfs now?

It's the material reality of what people live through. When one is entirely alienated from the product of their own labour, what do they care for the mission and culture of a company who will fire me at an irrational whim? Better to have a vibrant life outside of work to keep oneself sane.

Well, especially if the mission of the company who will fire them at a whim is driving "engagement" at any cost in order to sell ads, or (as in the case of the company I work for since the company I originally applied at was bought out), sell sports data to betting companies, who can blame them?

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#140
post #8

Currently at Meta. This place has always been a bit ruthless in the 8+ years I've been around to observe. But the article is accurate. Never seen people this universally fed up. I thought tech was too cushy for it to happen, but there's serious collective action posting out in the open all over the place. It's also never been more cutthroat, backstabby, scope-grabby, political, and uncertain. There seems to be a flyw…

Serious question - I know this will come off as inflammatory but I am genuinely curious. Do you ever talk to coworkers about the addictive, polarizing nature of Meta recommendation feed algorithms? There is pretty solid research around teen health (specially girls) around how many problems it causes. Is the pay just so good you turn a blind eye? Honestly, I can understand that if I am being honest. But I don't see as…

Not OP and never worked at Meta, but according to Sarah Wynn Williams’ Careless People, the incentive is not so much the pay, it is the options. If you get in and leave before x number of years or get fired (not 100% sure how it works) you will lose the golden ”never having to work again” -ticket. Apparently it keeps people pretty meek and helps silence the jiminy Cricket in the backgrpund.
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