Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs • Hacker News Board

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#101

Post by tootie » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:39 PM UTC

that_guy_iain wrote: post #10

Everyone has a super bad feeling about the economy. I think most large companies are going to be announcing back to office then followed by layoffs.

BLS issued job numbers today and May was still very strong. 390K new jobs, participation rate is up and unemployment rate steady at 3.6%. We're in a bizarre situation where labor is in such short supply that eliminating millions of jobs would just bring us to parity and not lead to a spike in unemployment. It would at least relieve upward pressure on wages and possibly put downward pressure.

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#102

Post by vanillax » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:40 PM UTC

massysett wrote: post #79

procgen wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is remote work hammering the economy? What effect does it actually have on productivity?

It's keeping a lot of people at home who otherwise would be in downtowns or suburban office districts buying lunch, having clothes drycleaned, stopping in stores, buying gas, etc.

This still happens regardless of remote work. People still live in the cities. The city isn't 100% full of remote tech workers. I think there is some assumption that remote work represents the majority, which its not even close.

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#103

Post by treis » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:40 PM UTC

massysett wrote: post #79

procgen wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is remote work hammering the economy? What effect does it actually have on productivity?

It's keeping a lot of people at home who otherwise would be in downtowns or suburban office districts buying lunch, having clothes drycleaned, stopping in stores, buying gas, etc.

This is a "broken window" fallacy.

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#104

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:41 PM UTC

that_guy_iain wrote: post #36

kenferry wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When people say “no desk” what they mean is “no space in the building to allocate a desk”.

When people say "no space in the building to allocate a desk” they mean "No space to neatly put a desk." Companies have often shown repeatedly they can force desks into rooms when needed. Anyways, they can and will buy office space to put the desks when needed.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#105

Post by breadbreadbread » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:41 PM UTC

that_guy_iain wrote: post #11

akmittal wrote: post #5

So this was not enough? https://mobile.twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/15320445618071797...

Well, that happened yesterday and is probably part of their process of reducing numbers by 10%. It's better if they quit than if they're laid off.

* better for the company

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#106

Post by fnordpiglet » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:41 PM UTC

Most companies I’ve ever worked at top grade yearly and lay off 5-10% of the workforce as a business practice. The fifth quartile it’s been called. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening here to be clear. But a 10% RIF isn’t unusual.

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#107

Post by duped » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:42 PM UTC

Victerius wrote: post #89

kochindustries wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Tesla, office workers will soon find themselves working in a tent.

Tbh I wouldn't mind "working" out of a tent for a few weeks if the "office" was located in a natural area and the whole affair was more of a company-sponsored camping "workation" where half the day was spent doing outdoor activities.

What if the tent was in a parking lot in Fremont during fire season

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#108

Post by that_guy_iain » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:42 PM UTC

Silhouette wrote: post #48

that_guy_iain wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's not legally the same thing. Since doing things to get people to quit have to be larger than you need to work at your place of employment. It's moving them across the country, making them work unsocialable hours, etc. Not returning to the office, which the goverment actually wants. Remote work is bad for the economy.

Remote work is bad for the economy. I've seen this claim a few times now. Are we actually sure it's true? Or does it just shift long-term spending trends? For example maybe people don't go to lots of inner city coffee bars in business districts any more but local cafes near residential areas are thriving. Maybe people don't stop in big stores on their way home from work but home delivery services are thriving. Maybe…

> For example maybe people don't go to lots of inner city coffee bars in business districts any more but local cafes near residential areas are thriving.

People don't buy coffee on the way to work, people don't buy coffee on the way home, people don't buy sandwiches and snacks, people don't spend money on commuting, people don't spend money at resturants for launch, companies stop having team lunches.

People don't go to cafes locally because they have a coffee machine at home. Most people buy coffee and drinks on the way to work out of ease not that they taste better.

> Maybe bad managers who don't understand how to support and motivate their teams are having problems with people slacking off at home. What if good managers who look after their people and engender a degree of trust and even loyalty are improving their team's performance by making their people's lives better?

This talk of having good and bad managers makes no real sense. Companies aren't just going to fire managers. That would be unfair.

> It seems far too early to draw broad conclusions about the effects of population-scale remote working but early enough to be confident that some people really like it but it's not for everyone and that some types of businesses benefit from the shift away from the office while others lose out.

Too early? Two-years in?

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#109

Post by halfmatthalfcat » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:42 PM UTC

chasd00 wrote: post #92

alkonaut wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except if yo lay off 10% you get to cut (at least some of) the 10% you want to get rid off. And if you rely on persuading people to quit by reducing satisfaction, you'll get rid of a large chunk of the 10% best employees instead.

It would seem to me any time a 10% layoff is announced you can expect another 10% to leave over the next year. Smart people will see the writing on the wall and they always have a couple recruiters in their back pocket. Employers would want to layoff the bottom 10% obviously but they're going to shed serious talent too as they get the full court press from recruiters.

What is the writing on the wall, specifically, for Tesla though? They're ramping up two new factories and have a massive product lineup outlook. Electric is the future and, while this recession will last a couple years, will be the winning strategy long term.

It's hard not to be long Tesla and take this financial turbulence as that, turbulence.

Re: Tesla to Cut 10% of Jobs

#110

Post by JumpCrisscross » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:43 PM UTC

fnordpiglet wrote: post #94

kylecordes wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the spirit of this; but… This specific pattern, switching suddenly from "thousands of open positions" to “freeze and maybe layoffs” is typical for large large, mature, professionally managed companies.

But not because the CEO fired off an email based on his gut feeling about the economy. That’s wacky.

> not because the CEO fired off an email based on his gut feeling about the economy. That’s wacky.

Elon's been off his rocker the last couple weeks. But this is just honesty. At the end of the day, this is the CEO's job. Some dress it up with more corporate speak. Others, like Elon, are more direct.