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Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

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Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#241

Post by georgeecollins »

dagamer34 wrote: post #116
georgeecollins wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in silicon valley and it seems like there is a huge shortage of people with software development skills. I am not talking about geniuses, just people with skills. I work at a company that isn't the sexiest (but a good stable employer) and man, it is hard to find people.

Honest question as a developer looking eventually to move to the Valley in a year or so: is it really that hard to find good people? Is software development really that hard? I taught myself 99% of what I know and found it to be pretty easy, and currently do iOS dev work. Just wondering.

If you are skilled in objective C, and you have good code samples to show it, I think it should not be hard to find a position. If you are thinking about doing this I think a good place to start is to see if you can pick up some freelance work with a company based in the area.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#242

Post by georgeecollins »

x0x0 wrote: post #76
georgeecollins wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in silicon valley and it seems like there is a huge shortage of people with software development skills. I am not talking about geniuses, just people with skills. I work at a company that isn't the sexiest (but a good stable employer) and man, it is hard to find people.

if you're having trouble hiring people at the market rates, you need to revisit your assumptions (at minimum, the one about paying market rates)

I agree, that is a good point.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#243

Post by TallGuyShort »

boyter wrote: post #171
72deluxe wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's very sad. Why are they getting divorced if they are happy?

I don't want to get too deeply into it but PTSD is one hell of a disease and destroys families.

Also sorry to hear it - I apologize if my quote was insensitive. My point was just that if layoffs are deemed necessary, one way or another it's best if the employee and company part ways sooner rather than later.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#244

Post by TallGuyShort »

ulfw wrote: post #228

How can you fire 18,000 people without seriously disrupting your business (not even considering loss of morale, angst, good employees running away or getting their resumes ready). But just logistically. How do you decide who those 18,000 are? Just random? How do you know which are 'expendable' or the 'bad Apples'? When you are talking this size, I doubt that is even possible.

It's impossible for 1 individual, but if it's as "strategic" as the letter says, then it was probably done to specific departments by specific amounts. That'll filter down and the final, specific decisions probably get made at much smaller scales. There's certainly going to be some sub-optimal decisions, though.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#245

Post by seanmcdirmid »

cesarbs wrote: post #210
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can only be on a H1B for 6 years (3 years renewed twice). After that, its either greencard or go home for a few years, and everyone I know has been able to get greencards even if the "process" is kind of tough. However, I cannot get a greencard in the country of my residence (where I have many coworkers with USA greencards, ironically enough), so I think it is not very fair.

You can stay longer than 6 years if you have a pending Green Card application.

Yes, but your GC application has to basically be approved by that point, and you are just waiting for a slot.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#246

Post by mpyne »

gryphonic wrote: post #222
tomjen3 wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you elaborate on those kinds of jobs? Obviously relative few companies hire people to plan artillery strikes, etc, but I suppose those aren't what you mean. Does a purchasing department at Big Corp really differ that much from logistics and supply work?

I have worked in two industries that hire a lot of ex-military with essentially a high school level of education. The first is nuclear power. A lot of the people working in the control rooms are from the military, and it is a very high paying and comfy job for someone without a college degree. The other is high skill technician and assemblers in manufacturing. The things these jobs have in common is they need a stric…

I'll note with the nuclear power example that they don't simply hire ex-military, they hire from a very specific subset of Navy nuclear propulsion workers.

Even being good at following orders isn't going to help you get your civilian SRO license, but sailors who have been trained on the Navy's various reactor types have easily-transferable knowledge for civilian PWR and BWR plants, and so they get picked up quite easily in the civilian sector.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#247

Post by mpyne »

keithpeter wrote: post #200
crag wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also a feeling of being stuck. I mean, you a 13B, where you gonna get a job? At Burger King? And you're (were) an E6; a platoon leader with responsibility for personnel and artillery equipment worth millions and now you're flipping burgers? I've always thought the Army needed a job training problem (maybe through the VA, if nothing else) where you could "un-learn" your military skills in favor of civilian skills…

"I've always thought the Army needed a job training problem (maybe through the VA, if nothing else) where you could "un-learn" your military skills in favor of civilian skills." British Army has various qualifications of its own some of which can be 'mapped' over to civilian equivalents. Mainly technical areas plus management/supervisory. I can't find a clear single source of information but I know from ex-students t…

The Navy has something called "COOL" which tries to map civilian certifications to equivalent Navy ratings and NECs, https://www.cool.navy.mil/

But I'm not sure how well it helps in practice, nor on whether other U.S. armed services have something similar.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#248

Post by smcl »

bcbrown wrote: post #155
nilkn wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they have people regularly turning down offers, then yes, it's likely explained by compensation. If they can't get talented people to apply in the first place, then there are countless other reasons that could be at play.

If they bumped the numbers up $50k and advertised that, I bet they'd get a lot more applications, assuming they're in a tech hub or allow remote work.

Is it normal to advertise salaries in job listings? I've really not seen this very much, but then I'm not in the west coast of the US

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#249

Post by boyter »

TallGuyShort wrote: post #243
boyter wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to get too deeply into it but PTSD is one hell of a disease and destroys families.

Also sorry to hear it - I apologize if my quote was insensitive. My point was just that if layoffs are deemed necessary, one way or another it's best if the employee and company part ways sooner rather than later.

No problem at all. No need to apologize.

Re: Large Round of Layoffs Expected at Microsoft

#250

Post by known »

ctrlaltkill wrote: post #197
known wrote: post #162

Companies ruined or almost ruined by imported Indian labor (US) http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?98021-Companies-ruined-or...

That thread got very racist very quickly. I don't know if it's intended to be satire, but it conflates a lot of issues and blames it on Indians. AIG and Lehman, for example, collapsed due to very different reasons.

http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/sep/24/indians-among-...
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