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Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

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Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#281

Post by lmm »

justahuman74 wrote: post #9
monero-xmr wrote: post #4

How is Google avoiding any layoffs? I know their structure is such that stockholders supposedly can’t force any changes, but it’s hard to justify being the only company without any cuts. Their stock is falling and they still have a single cash cow for over 80% of their revenue despite over a decade of attempts to diversify.

There is nothing to justify though. Stock prices are external opinions based on market factors, and other companies making staff cuts is their own problem. If the voting majority of the google board is happy with the revenue/profit/growth/staff then why would they cut

Why would the board be happy? Do they think they know something the market doesn't?

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#282

Post by ryanSrich »

anonreeeeplor wrote: post #148

I have interviewed with Amazon several times. Every time I don’t make it through because I realized the people in many of the roles were (a) not the best people (b) I seemed to know way more than many of them about their domain (c) they kept trying to offer me horizontal transfer (d) they wanted to pay me less than I know I am worth. My impression is Amazon is a factory tuned to hire and churn a sort of middle of the…

I applied to Amazon several years ago before I started my own company. I got to the final round of interviews and I cannot express how almost every single person I interviewed with that day (8 fucking interviews in a single day, in person) seemed to not give a shit about what I was saying. It was a draining process and by the end I just wanted to leave. I didn’t get an offer.

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#283

Post by sokoloff »

johnfn wrote: post #130
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We are seeing a bit of a market downturn - but it hasn’t hit Amazon pocketbook now, has it? Are they in danger of running out of money? What happened to “people are our most important resource”? Companies plan for where the market is going, not last quarter’s results. It’s fully clear to everyone that the economy has shifted dramatically. They are adjusting as appropriate. Also, these people will be laid off with s…

> Companies plan for where the market is going, not last quarter’s results. It’s fully clear to everyone that the economy has shifted dramatically. They are adjusting as appropriate. It goes both ways. If you planned so poorly and hired so fast that a minor perturbation in the market causes you to fire 17,000 people, you're still communicating that you putting profits above people.

17K people is about 1% of total employees. While each of these job losses matters a lot to the people involved, a 1% reduction in the face of what is surely more than a 10% change in medium-term projections is hardly proof of crazy over-hiring or terrible planning.

There’s no doubt that Amazon puts profits over people. They’re a profit-seeking enterprise (and a fairly effective one at that).

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#284

Post by jimt1234 »

chihuahua wrote: post #169
zitterbewegung wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was covered in ArsTechnica [1] and it seems like they are laying off a large portion of the Alexa team because it doesn't make a profit. I bought the Alexa when it first came out and it had and still has a great UI. When the Alexa launched I made a skill on the platform which I don't think anyone really downloaded. What confused me the most was Amazon never allowed for paid skills (which I really think was an ex…

Alexa is a bit of a mystery. The plan apparently was: 1. Sell millions of devices at cost. Unrelenting sales on Echo devices 2. ??? 3. Profit And Step 2 was never filled in. Maybe it was "if people can re-order paper towels by shouting at Alexa, we'll sell more paper towels". But that plan has its limits.

I always thought Alexa was just a play to get more data, especially data about apps/services outside Amazon's ecosystem. Every time you tell Alexa to play a song (on Spotify) or turn up the temperature (on the smart thermostat), Amazon is analyzing that data. Maybe they'll start showing you ads for sweaters since they know you're always cold. LOL

Also, the more you ask Alexa a question, the less you search on Google. And that's gotta be worth a bunch to Amazon. At least I thought it was.

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#285

Post by fijiaarone »

quanticle wrote: post #77
discodave wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like Amazon. Back in the day they managed to avoid 'layoffs' by transferring thousands of people from Fire Phone -> Alexa. They somehow avoided layoffs from shutting down Prime Air (drones, not 767s), even though that had a lot of employees. They're pretty good at getting people to leave without doing 'layoffs'. Heck, if you believe that they've always had 5-10% 'unregretted attrition' targets, which I do, and…

Why do you believe Prime Air is shut down, when it just started making actual drone deliveries to customers in College Station TX, and Lockeford, CA [1]? [1]: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/amazon-begins-drone-...

Wouldn’t it be easier to just equip Miller Light with wings?

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#286

Post by ryan93 »

lmm wrote: post #268
nxm wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. What you describe is Western Europe with depressed wages and less innovation and dynamic economy. You can’t regulate/unionize into prosperity.

What's "prosperity"? I feel much better off with a decent work-life balance and the assurance that I won't arbitrarily lose my job than I would with a larger number in my bank account but none of that protection.

[flagged]

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#287

Post by anonreeeeplor »

midoridensha wrote: post #213
anonreeeeplor wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe that there is a power swing about to happen where talented individuals may get a lot more powerful and influential in relation to institutions and corporations. I liken it to how MANPADS allow individual soldiers to overpower tanks for far cheaper, flipping the script on 100 years of war. It hasn’t fully come to pass yet but corporations hire way too many “credential dead weight.” In my career I have often…

MANPADS is for shooting down aircraft ("ADS" = air defense system). You're thinking of the Javelin and NLAW anti-tank weapons. Anti-tank rockets have been around for many decades; they're nothing new, but the latest ones are just more effective and have better range. IIRC, the Javelin itself was designed and first deployed back in the 1990s, so it's not exactly new either. What's new in the Ukraine conflict is that R…

I am in the Ukrainian army. Sometimes, for fun, we shoot MANPADS at the tanks because we already took down all the jets. It’s super fun you should try enlisting.

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#288

Post by Robotbeat »

GenerocUsername wrote: post #271
andsoitis wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People are tired of job hopping to get market pay If nobody moved from job to job, there would be no market .

There would be a lot fewer recruiters, and more experienced engineers. Also a less monolithic tech culture. Right now every employee is more or less compatible across every company because we all seek to be transferable

It would be bad for the industry and would mean greater concentration of talent in one or two corporations.

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#289

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

quasarj wrote: post #258
ferdowsi wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you go from 9 to working age without getting residency in the US or another country?

First experience with the US immigration process, eh?

FWIW, it does not seem like an uncommon reaction. My wife had a similar questions bordering on disbelief, when I was giving her a glimpse of current US immigration system based on my experience alone.

Re: Amazon to Lay Off over 17,000 Workers, More Than First Planned

#290

Post by jackcosgrove »

dkrich wrote: post #86
partiallypro wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon and all of these companies are laying people off based on future forecasts, not based on the current economy. Regardless of if people are first, no company wants teams sitting around not doing anything. I've been laid off, it sucks, but just because Amazon is making money today doesn't mean it will be tomorrow.

What’s unusual about this cycle though is that it’s the fear of a recession due to fed policy that is causing companies to cut back. In past cycles fed policy caused a recession nobody predicted and companies suddenly found their earnings in the toilet and made enormous cuts in head count, R&D spending, etc. Something about this cycle and these cuts feels I dunno, manufacturered or something. Like are 7k high paying…

The Fed is trying to trigger a recession, although they'll never come out and say it, because they want to increase the unemployment rate. Increased unemployment will put a stop to both price and wage inflation. At this point the Fed is trying to prevent a wage price spiral and a resetting of expectations among the public towards more inflation.
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