Live data from Hacker News

Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

news.ycombinator.com

11–20 of 110 posts

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#12
post #5

You handle it by being happy that you still have an internship right now. There is a lot going on in the world, now is not the time to feel entitled to anything.

Agreed.

Though I will say, it's still shocking to see. Not that cascading layoffs, furloughs, internship cancellations, and wage/salary reductions are unexpected right now. Shocking in how surreal it all feels.

My gf and I have a number of friends in MBA/grad programs, and most have had their internships or job offers rescinded.

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#13

Picking up pennies in front of a steamroller... Does it make sense to cut the salaries of the lowest-paid, zero equity groups? The same group of people you'll be competing to hire from when they graduate.

Beats cutting the salaries of full employees, no? And who says Lyft will still be hiring?

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#14

Picking up pennies in front of a steamroller... Does it make sense to cut the salaries of the lowest-paid, zero equity groups? The same group of people you'll be competing to hire from when they graduate.

as a graduate, you'd be extremely lucky to have any job at all, let alone a job at a tech company, let alone one as well known as Lyft. Let's face it, with the current vast oversupply of labor, employers have a lot more bargaining power.

Back in my day, after the Tech bubble burst, I was a coder with little experience, and I worked for any start up that would let me, just so i could get more experience. One place, I got paid 0$, with just a thank you and a slice of pizza (1 slice, not 2).

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#15
I'd be curious to know if you signed a contract already? If you signed a contract pre-cut you could technically sue (not sure if it would help but it's always an option), but if you still haven't signed a contract then this is a lesson to always have a back up plan and make sure you don't take anything for granted until that contract is signed.

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#16

Picking up pennies in front of a steamroller... Does it make sense to cut the salaries of the lowest-paid, zero equity groups? The same group of people you'll be competing to hire from when they graduate.

I think it would be smarter to not have an internship program right now.

Very little of the work from internships contributes to active product roadmap, and you'd better be served by retention than new hiring. Especially of junior engineers.

Although it's a generalization, interns are as a group probably better equipped to handle sudden loss of salary. Those with children, mortgages, and healthcare needs are less so.

It sucks for interns to be affected, but all things considered it's the lesser amongst many evils.

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#17
post #2

How to handle it is either you take the internship, or you don't.

I was depending on this internship to support me financially. At the current rate, it doesn't work out

While I do not pretend to know your financial situation, I do have a good friend of mine who interned in the bay area for $15/hr with no benefits (housing or otherwise) and managed to live relatively fine for 8 months. It's not close to ideal, but I know it is possible.

Re: Lyft cuts internship salaries by 50%

#19

I'd be curious to know if you signed a contract already? If you signed a contract pre-cut you could technically sue (not sure if it would help but it's always an option), but if you still haven't signed a contract then this is a lesson to always have a back up plan and make sure you don't take anything for granted until that contract is signed.

Most internships are at-will employment.
Post reply on HN