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Waymo Layoffs

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Re: Waymo Layoffs

#101

Post by iaseiadit »

preommr wrote: post #70
FooBarBizBazz wrote: post #64

Layoffs in what's supposed to be an emerging growth industry? Looks like a signal that the growth opportunity isn't actually there.

More like Google can't stop failing. * They dropped the ball with LLMs and OpenAI * They dropped the ball with VR/AR - mark my words, apple's vision pro is going to be incredibly successful. Apple doesn't miss, they manage to fully execute on ideas like the ipod, iphone, etc. that other companies know people want but can't fully deliver. * Now they're going to drop the ball on potentially dominating the transportatio…

VR/AR has been a disaster for every single company that’s gone anywhere near it. A bit too soon to claim that Apple cracked it.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#102

Post by huytersd »

rnk wrote: post #3

Is there a conclusion that the taxi service kind of works and just needs to fix a few minor issues around the edges fixed to work in limited city use in many cities, or is it so far away it's not even close?

I’ve tried it in San Fran and phoenix and they work really well. I hope Google isn’t going to nope out of this.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#103

Post by echelon »

jeffreygoesto wrote: post #98
2c2c2c wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this comment would make sense if there werent a fleet of 100 cruise and 100 waymo sucessfully operating for months in SF now

100 people is about one train carriage. That is not a lot of bang for the buck.

At some point in history there were 100 single-celled organisms (or protocellular organisms?) presumably around some hydrothermal vent. Not a lot of promise there, either.

I get the self-driving car skepticism. I'm a skeptic. But the expected value is insanely positive and warrants our attention.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#104

Post by bratbag »

shiroiuma wrote: post #44
fbdab103 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My CEO just announced this strategy. Layoffs are to begin...soonish? Maybe next week? Up to the end of 2024. Need to chop $$$X from the budget. Which is to say, assuming you are not actively looking for the exit door, why even bother to do your job? At-will employment and all that, but it is an entirely different thing if the company has announced they have a fixed dollar expense target to hit. Layoffs have always ha…

>Which is to say, assuming you are not actively looking for the exit door, why even bother to do your job? There's certainly no incentive to "go the extra mile" and be a high performer.

My company just came out the other side of this.

Only the high performers still have jobs.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#105

Post by shiroiuma »

bratbag wrote: post #104
shiroiuma wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Which is to say, assuming you are not actively looking for the exit door, why even bother to do your job? There's certainly no incentive to "go the extra mile" and be a high performer.

My company just came out the other side of this. Only the high performers still have jobs.

How many high performers simply moved on to greener pastures?

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#106

Post by disqard »

superfrank wrote: post #59
rnk wrote: post #3

Is there a conclusion that the taxi service kind of works and just needs to fix a few minor issues around the edges fixed to work in limited city use in many cities, or is it so far away it's not even close?

I was down in San Francisco a month ago and my friend has access so we took Waymo's everywhere. We took about 10 over the weekend and never had any issue, even when other cars were doing weird things. From my limited experience I felt like they're pretty solid in the city. The only hiccup I can remember was being in an intersection (past the crosswalk) to make an unprotected left and while we were waiting the light t…

> and there's something nice about not having to interact with a real person

This is the end-goal, I guess? Not just avoiding a taxi/Uber driver, but avoiding as much human interaction as possible.

Is it surprising that technology is (collectively) being evolved to isolate humans from each other?

AFAICT, we can't have our cake and eat it too -- a completely frictionless life is a zero human-interaction life, which would be very sad.

Edit: I fall into this trap too, but I'm aware that every time I choose convenience over friction, I'm losing a tiny bit of my Human-ness.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#107

Post by Tempest1981 »

crazygringo wrote: post #67
Tempest1981 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> southwestern and southern US (SF, ...) I never considered SF as southwestern, but Wikipedia says you're correct

I don't think so. According to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_United_States#Reg... the southwestern US extends to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts on the west side. It lists the largest cities of the southwest as Phoenix, Las Vegas, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Tucson. SF is not in there...

Ah, thanks, I was misled by the graphic.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#108

Post by oldpersonintx »

2c2c2c wrote: post #86
riku_iki wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's worth a shot, though. waymo is 14 years old, maybe it is enough for a shot and time to move on something more proven? Like poor billions into smarter public transportation for example.

this comment would make sense if there werent a fleet of 100 cruise and 100 waymo sucessfully operating for months in SF now

[dead]

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#109

Post by braza »

up2isomorphism wrote: post #76

Does it make money? No Does it make you drive your car safely while sleeping ? No Does learn to drive such a hard thing? No Then why do we need this kind of company? I don’t know.

> Then why do we need this kind of company?

I come from a place that has in the last 13 years more than 500K people died, in almost 28% of the cases it happened roads/highways due to illegal overtaking and over-speeding.

I would like to have in my lifetime a car that had some sort of technology that could prevent some of those accidents, and autonomous cars could help on it.

Re: Waymo Layoffs

#110

Post by pcthrowaway »

superfrank wrote: post #59
rnk wrote: post #3

Is there a conclusion that the taxi service kind of works and just needs to fix a few minor issues around the edges fixed to work in limited city use in many cities, or is it so far away it's not even close?

I was down in San Francisco a month ago and my friend has access so we took Waymo's everywhere. We took about 10 over the weekend and never had any issue, even when other cars were doing weird things. From my limited experience I felt like they're pretty solid in the city. The only hiccup I can remember was being in an intersection (past the crosswalk) to make an unprotected left and while we were waiting the light t…

> A human driver would likely wait for the light to go red and then make the turn, but the Waymo gave up almost immediately and instead decided to circle the block to make the left (three rights)

I totaled two cars when I was newer to driving because I did exactly that (waited for the light to turn red and then went), only to collide with people running the red.

Insurance faults the person who was making the left, so I can understand why the Waymo would want to be more cautious

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