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Buffer Layoffs

open.buffer.com

331–340 of 429 posts

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This exact "greed" rhetoric is what helps businesses keep dev salaries down. You don't get greedy people for that much, you get smart business people (they know their worth and charge for it).

I do not understand devs who justify low salaries this way. Why make 50% of your potential?

I'm not justifying low salaries; i'm saying that $155,000 is plenty.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> cut smartly I actually think this is important. Working with an asshole is a big problem, and I fully admire leaders who know when it's time to let someone go because the situation cannot improve. It certainly beats working in a caustic environment because people are afraid to fire someone.

alas, usually in cutting environments like this the caustic assholes are the ones who stay and the ones who haven't presented their output in the best way are the ones who will be cut.

You're assuming that you have to be an asshole to get/make your results noticed. And yes, those who sit in a corner doing stuff nobody cares about will be fired, and rightfully so.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In take-home income right? They still have sizeable ownership of the company and vesting.

Yes, they are willing to forego significant salary because they will control most of the profits.

You mean "hypothetical profits". There's a distinct possibility of there being no profits at all.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#334
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That does seem astronomical. $4,000 per employee if they have ~100 employees like they say. Anyone think their salaries are absurdly high for some locations and positions? They've got Adnan working as an "Advanced Backend/Frontend Developer" in Sri Lanka, making only $65,104. This actually makes sense to me because Sri Lanka's cost of living is pretty low. But they've got an Advanced "Happiness Hero" which I presume…

$4,000 would barely cover business-class airfare between SF Berlin for one employee. Not to mention accommodations, event space, meals and entertainment.

Group travel is really quite cheap. Massive savings with a group booking.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#335
post #252

Why is this several hundred upvotes news? A startup grows from 30-something to 90-something it's too much it trims a little. That's entirely normal. What's the big news?

Because they are transparent about it and there are lessons that other startups can learn from their mistakes.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#337
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm unclear as to whether this was meant to be sarcastic or not. My point is this: Children have a certain nature; part of being a child is development of the ability to regulate one's emotions. Loving, thoughtful parents will (hopefully) learn about such things, such as Dr. Porges "Polyvagal Theory" and then be able to help their children with this process. I am not suggesting that people should abandon important re…

No sarcasm at all. Child abandonment is clearly bad for the child and can see the parent thrown in jail. Adoption is the better choice for both parties. I think you perhaps missed the broader point though. If you're raising children as servants to take care of you when you're old, then yes, self-interest is a good reason to keep them around. They will also likely act in their own self-interest and ditch you. Otherwis…

> Otherwise, raising a child requires a great deal of self-sacrifice with absolutely no guarantee that you'll even get the satisfaction of a job well done. It's a total crap shoot and even the emotional return on your investment is likely to be poor.

Interesting. Although there is self-sacrifice, for myself, I see it more as a privileged to bring up another human being. As much sacrifice as I've given, I've gotten back. Being a parent has made me really consider my own actions - do I act in accordance with my moral code? do I actually present the example I want to set or am I hypocritical? How can I create safe boundaries for the child so they can explore and become themselves? There are so many things being a parent can teach you. The questions that children come up with out of curiosity.....sometimes just floor me completely. Then there's the cuddles and hugs which just melt your heart :)

I don't know about self-interest - I think here it really is down to what you think self-interest is. Which I think starts to touch on what each person believes their life is for. Anyway, just some random thoughts.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#338
post #5

While Buffer's transparency is incredible, the financial calculations in the article fail to account for the possibility of an employee exodus domino effect, especially after both knowing the financial state of the company, and relevant perks being cut.

I would actually think the opposite: if you're a buffer employee right now, you know a) the company will continue to exist b) that you're a valuable asset to the company and c) that your founders walk the walk when it comes to transparency and information sharing. I'd assume a few people will leave for better offers in the next few weeks, but this seems to prove that the founders are dedicated to the company and can…

Except it seems as though they all signed up to be at a company that was transparent and practiced a certain way of doing business (and actually pushes it as one of the great reasons to work there) and then you find out it was all a lie and that management was hiding information from you as suited them. By their own admission the layoffs came out of the blue to staff despite the fact that they were deliberating on it for a while.

If they practiced what they preached they would have laid it all out early. Some people may have had other opportunities and left, others might have said that they would take a paycut for the greater good, etc.

What this may mean, is that some staff members think that the company isn't actually what it says it is, isn't genuine in its approach, and that they can't trust it to live up to it's values when the going does get tough.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#339
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but Hootsuite costs $10/month paid and has a generous free plan, so yeah...

Hootsuite has nearly 1000 employees, so this isn't a good counterexample.

Counter example of what? I am pointing out how a company sucks out all of the air in the room.

Re: Buffer Layoffs

#340
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but Hootsuite costs $10/month paid and has a generous free plan, so yeah...

Buffer's scheduling tools are far superior and a generous free plan as well. http://bigfishpr.com/social-media-smackdown-hootsuite-vs-buf...

"Far superior" is quite a stretch and hootsuite has it's own advantages.
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