RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns • Hacker News Board

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#31

Post by jskopek » Tue, May 29, 2012, 4:28 AM UTC

dmix wrote: post #24

phillmv wrote: post #13

I wish they weren't failing. I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if thousands of Waterloo grads suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly looking for a job, somewhat cooling down the Canadian developer job market.

Do we even know its engineers getting laid off?

It seems like its primarily HR, Marketing, and Law getting cut. The blossoming startup scene in Waterloo and Toronto should be eager to try out any engineers that are given the boot; it's still very much a sellers market up here.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#32

Post by kabdib » Tue, May 29, 2012, 4:38 AM UTC

Danieru wrote: post #26

codedivine wrote: post #19

As a sidenote, all the cheering and celebration that goes on in the techpress when a company dies is somewhat disgusting. I don't understand why a large section of tech industry wants RIM or Nokia etc to fail. I would rather them see them succeed, see them build something cool and have more and fun things to play with. edit: I think we can safely conclude that hackers are about as human and as fallible as any other g…

Except these layoffs are not what killed the company. The company has been dead for a while, reality is just slow to adjust. Do not think of it as a company dieing but rather thousands of brilliant souls being released from enslavement.

Having worked for a large "dead, but didn't know it yet" company in the past: Yup. In the later layoffs, when they had run out of dead wood and were cutting into great, productive workers, it was entirely unclear who the lucky people were. I heard of people getting axed on a thursday who were working at a new place the next week, with higher pay.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#33

Post by edwinnathaniel » Tue, May 29, 2012, 5:11 AM UTC

phillmv wrote: post #13

I wish they weren't failing. I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if thousands of Waterloo grads suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly looking for a job, somewhat cooling down the Canadian developer job market.

Engineers gone through a round of lay-off already. This time is all non-engineers.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#34

Post by edwinnathaniel » Tue, May 29, 2012, 5:16 AM UTC

DigitalSea wrote: post #23

I find it ironic that a company called Research In Motion is going backwards as a company rather than forwards. People seem to be championing the fall of RIM and although it is their fault for being an arrogant player in the enterprise sector, it's sad to see them fail like this. While they're not dead yet, it is probably bound to happen eventually unless RIM is taken in a new direction by a CEO with balls to be a le…

"What I find ironic is that analysts who are sitting in this room will criticize this company while typing out that criticism on a BlackBerry," one shareholder said to laughs from the audience, "And I think that that’s the most self-serving, most despicable activity on this planet," he said.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#35

Post by josephagoss » Tue, May 29, 2012, 5:20 AM UTC

btipling wrote: post #11

aaront wrote: post #3

While I don't use any RIM products personally, the Canadian in me wants to see them turn around this slump and be innovative again.

I think there is room for three great smartphone platforms and I hope Windows Phone isn't one of them. So I'm rooting for RIM.

My girlfriend got a windows phone recently, by far its one of the best mobile operating systems I have ever used. She's hates computers and loves the phone. Microsoft did a good job on the OS.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#36

Post by sliverstorm » Tue, May 29, 2012, 5:33 AM UTC

edwinnathaniel wrote: post #33

phillmv wrote: post #13

I wish they weren't failing. I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if thousands of Waterloo grads suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly looking for a job, somewhat cooling down the Canadian developer job market.

Engineers gone through a round of lay-off already. This time is all non-engineers.

Classic. "Who should we fire first? Oh, I know! The people who develop the only products we sell, that's who!"

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#37

Post by oz » Tue, May 29, 2012, 5:36 AM UTC

andrewpi wrote: post #21

cleaver wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked at doing BB development when it was it's prime. It was too expensive to get into and the cost of a BB enterprise server was prohibitive for a amall shop.

It's been a while since I've looked into it, but last I looked, all the required tools were free/open-source, and the only requirement to be a BlackBerry developer is/was a $20 signing key.

I believe signing keys are now free.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#38

Post by potatolicious » Tue, May 29, 2012, 6:00 AM UTC

phillmv wrote: post #13

I wish they weren't failing. I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if thousands of Waterloo grads suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly looking for a job, somewhat cooling down the Canadian developer job market.

Given the number of US software companies trampling over each other to hire Waterloo grads, I'm not overly concerned. I'd be more concerned for every other Canadian CS program where the interest-level from American employers is more or less non-existent (the American market being, well, incredibly healthy for now).

I've now been at multiple US companies where they pull out the stops to recruit at Waterloo, while not giving a wayward glance towards other Canadian schools. I still haven't figured out why - even as an egotistical Waterloo grad I have trouble seeing what we had that other schools don't.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#39

Post by corin_ » Tue, May 29, 2012, 6:23 AM UTC

codedivine wrote: post #17

Well, people are too quick to jump on any stories blasting RIM nowadays. We should rename HN to "Questionable Hacker Rumors". For one, it is a rumor. Apple Insider isn't exactly known for well placed sources inside RIM. Second, even if we were to take this at face value, read the text: "The layoffs will affect the company's legal, marketing, sales, operations, and human resources divisions, a source said." Not that e…

This may go against what lots of tech. people like to think (it's certainly a much sexier idea to think of a good company as one run by and only employing hackers), but just for the record there are people in many departments, including legal, marketing, sales, operations and HR, who are both talented and useful at companies.

The fact that RIM clearly has a lot of cruft to cut doesn't mean that a.) that cruft is all, or even mostly, outside their technical staff or that b.) of the non-technical cruft, those getting fired are part of it.

Re: RIM to cut 40% of workforce as another top exec resigns

#40

Post by runako » Tue, May 29, 2012, 7:01 AM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #36

edwinnathaniel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Engineers gone through a round of lay-off already. This time is all non-engineers.

Classic. "Who should we fire first ? Oh, I know! The people who develop the only products we sell, that's who!"

Obviously sarcasm, but in reality this is not crazy. For RIM's problem is they don't know what to build, not that they are incapable of shipping something. Burning cash having engineers build the wrong thing is not obviously any more correct.