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Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

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Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#31

Post by gruez »

kuchenbecker wrote: post #15

I'm at LI and my reporting chain is Sr mgr > Sr Director > VP > Sr vp > CEO. A year ago it was mgr > sr mgr > director > sr Director> vp> svp > ceo. No one in my management chain was impacted but the flattening has been happening organically as folks leave. LI has a distinctive lack of chill right now contrary to the company image, but generally things are just moving faster.

>LI has a distinctive lack of chill right now contrary to the company image

I don't get it. Did linkedin have an image of being a chill place to work?

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#32

Post by moneycantbuy »

firing entire levels of middle management seems to be a fashion these days, but from experience in my org it has been counterproductive. my current manager now has >60 direct reports so can’t even find the time to handle each of our basic hr tasks, let alone provide any leadership.

in theory i can see the board salivating to pretend they are elon but in practice it’s a dysfunctional nightmare.

plus it’s bad for ic morale because there is now no path forward for advancing our careers to the managerial level.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#33

Post by ajcp »

greatpostman wrote: post #11

I have a long held belief that engineering managers are mostly a scam, and are actually just overpaid scrum masters. This is from working at some top companies

You might be right, but that might be because they're just really bad managers.

A good engineering manager shouldn't be there to herd engineers. A good engineering manager is there to protect their engineers from the organization, ensure they have the resources required to do the work, and to make sure their organizational goals, development, and wellbeing are being advocated and cared for. Scrum masters shouldn't care about that. Managers should.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#34

Post by KyleSanderson »

tmpX7dMeXU wrote: post #24
booleandilemma wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My manager does little else besides asking what everyone is working on every day. We could automate her position with a slack bot and get the same results.

It’s likely that you do not have complete visibility over her role.

It's likely that they do - and it's reported at her standup what their team is working on.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#35

Post by wahnfrieden »

tiffanyh wrote: post #29
wahnfrieden wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

bytedance has 50-200 reports per manager in some teams and are wildly successful my suspicion is lower numbers are more a function of worker power (demand for 1:1s, career growth conversation, offloading more tasks to your manager, etc)

If you have 50-200 direct reports, you’re not a “manager”. You’re effectively either a recruiter or procurement.

then bytedance doesn't have managers

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#36

Post by refurb »

greatpostman wrote: post #11

I have a long held belief that engineering managers are mostly a scam, and are actually just overpaid scrum masters. This is from working at some top companies

I've seen what teams with a lack of management do. They do a lot, but little of it drives the business forward.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#37

Post by bradleyjg »

tiffanyh wrote: post #29
wahnfrieden wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

bytedance has 50-200 reports per manager in some teams and are wildly successful my suspicion is lower numbers are more a function of worker power (demand for 1:1s, career growth conversation, offloading more tasks to your manager, etc)

If you have 50-200 direct reports, you’re not a “manager”. You’re effectively either a recruiter or procurement.

I’ve heard of companies where hundreds of people officially report to person X but there are “mentors” with 3-5 mentees that seem an awful lot like other company’s mangers. Not sure what the point is exactly.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#38

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

moneycantbuy wrote: post #32

firing entire levels of middle management seems to be a fashion these days, but from experience in my org it has been counterproductive. my current manager now has >60 direct reports so can’t even find the time to handle each of our basic hr tasks, let alone provide any leadership. in theory i can see the board salivating to pretend they are elon but in practice it’s a dysfunctional nightmare. plus it’s bad for ic mo…

Nothing new. Middle managers are the traditional food for layoffs. Have been, for decades.

For me, I was a "first line" manager of a small, rather high-functioning team, for 25 years.

I was quite capable of going up the food chain, but didn't want to. I liked getting my hands dirty, and being directly connected to the product.

I was a really good manager. I took the job seriously, and did well for the company (see "25 years," above). It was a Japanese company, and it's pretty tough to keep Japanese managers happy.

I also hated being a manager. When I left the company, and got to do my own gig, I ran back to IC status, as fast as my little legs could go.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#39

Post by intelVISA »

pizzafeelsright wrote: post #21
greatpostman wrote: post #11

I have a long held belief that engineering managers are mostly a scam, and are actually just overpaid scrum masters. This is from working at some top companies

It depends. My manager filters my email. And tells me what the new priority is. Two levels up is a director. Above that is a department head. Out of 100 people there are about six that truly build, ship, accelerate the goal arrival. The rest of us make waves allowing the divers to have a soft landing.

Always makes you wonder what drives those 6 people to carry entire orgs like that when they could be free, and 10x richer.

Re: Ask HN: 20% of LinkedIn's recent layoffs were managers

#40

Post by kubrickslair »

gruez wrote: post #31
kuchenbecker wrote: post #15

I'm at LI and my reporting chain is Sr mgr > Sr Director > VP > Sr vp > CEO. A year ago it was mgr > sr mgr > director > sr Director> vp> svp > ceo. No one in my management chain was impacted but the flattening has been happening organically as folks leave. LI has a distinctive lack of chill right now contrary to the company image, but generally things are just moving faster.

>LI has a distinctive lack of chill right now contrary to the company image I don't get it. Did linkedin have an image of being a chill place to work?

Yes, at least among my colleagues - both in the US and India offices.
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