Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

371–380 of 923 posts

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#371

Post by 121789 »

mswphd wrote: post #291
121789 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can pretty much agree with everything you said in the first line but for the second, I guess I don't consider that terrible? they make risky bets, pay people tons and tons of money to try them, then if it doesn't work out they shut down the projects and let the people go? that feels like every startup except the employees actually get compensated. if that's driving the extra layoffs, it's hard to feel too bad for p…

have any of their risky bets paid off though? most of their main products have been acquisitions.

who cares? I'm saying the people that take the jobs for the incredibly risky bets (and everyone knows what is risky) understand the tradeoff--if the bet doesn't work their job is at risk. In the meantime they get paid millions of dollars. That seems like a fair situation to me

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#372

Post by matchbok3 »

autaut wrote: post #175
matchbok3 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Layoffs mean a company doesn't have productive, profitable work for a set of people. The broader profitability of the entire company is entirely irrelevant. Should employee x subsidize employee y? That's nonsense. Should a company keep someone on payroll and have them do nothing until profit reaches 0?

First of all if a company is profitable and has a number of employees and has no idea how to use them that’s a failure of leadership. The board should look for an executive team that knows how to use what it has. Secondarily layoffs don’t happen the way you say: they are across the board and when you are talking of 10% of a company there is no real way of targeting the inefficient people. More than anything is fiscal…

It's a failure, sure. But also a reality of every single company, ever. It's the nature of business.

And yeah, this approach to layoffs is sound. Been there, done that.

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#373

Post by akdev1l »

disillusioned wrote: post #275
rsanek wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meta has about 10% more employees now than they did at the end of 2021. They currently have less than half the employees of Google or Apple; only a third of Microsoft. If you're right, the rest of big tech is in a much worse position.

Yeah, but, just objectively speaking, look at how many _more_ business lines and units and actual PRODUCTS each of those other companies ship in comparison. Meta has... Facebook. Instagram. Threads, if you want to count it. What'sApp. The ad-tech that powers those things. A black hole of a VR division that has since been eviscerated after billions burned. An AR/device divison that sells glasses. And a burgeoning supe…

I am convinced Mark Zuckerberg does more harm than good for Facebook

like literally they lucked out on the landing the business model early but it feels it has been in an ongoing decline and everything else they have tried has failed spectacularly (and particularly things Mark has put his whole weight behind)

They never became anything more than the ad company

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#374

Post by akdev1l »

oytis wrote: post #269
rsanek wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meta has about 10% more employees now than they did at the end of 2021. They currently have less than half the employees of Google or Apple; only a third of Microsoft. If you're right, the rest of big tech is in a much worse position.

Apple makes cutting edge hardware, at least two operating systems and lots of user applications. Google makes search, cloud, a decent office suite with the largest mail server in the world and of course cutting edge AI. It's easy to see why either of them needs twice as many people as Meta

Also Google has a whole YouTube inside of it

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#375

Post by matchbok3 »

BobbyJo wrote: post #233
matchbok3 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Layoffs are a very normal thing for businesses to do. There is nothing "cowardly" about it. Would you rather them never hire them in the first place?

> Would you rather them never hire them in the first place? Isn't the obvious answer yes for everyone that sells their labor? If I gave you the choice between being an employee in an economy where it is more difficult to land a job, but you could be sure that job would last, or an economy where it is easier to find a job, but it was completely insecure, I think most would choose the former. No? Worring about finding…

This is a very depressing and mediocre outlook on innovation and growth.

Based on your logic we should make it impossible to fire anybody. That surely will solve our problems, right?

I want a dynamic, innovative economy where anyone can find a job if they work hard. Not because the law says they can't be fired. How depressing.

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#377

Post by matchbok3 »

freejazz wrote: post #249
matchbok3 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is there a successful socialist economy that produces innovative products that impact the whole world? I'll wait for you answer.

The thought that Meta has in any way benefitted society is objectively insane.

Literally billions of people would disagree with you.

The arrogance displayed here is astounding.

And this is coming from someone who doesn't like FB or Zuck.

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#378

Post by flir »

akdev1l wrote: post #373
disillusioned wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but, just objectively speaking, look at how many _more_ business lines and units and actual PRODUCTS each of those other companies ship in comparison. Meta has... Facebook. Instagram. Threads, if you want to count it. What'sApp. The ad-tech that powers those things. A black hole of a VR division that has since been eviscerated after billions burned. An AR/device divison that sells glasses. And a burgeoning supe…

I am convinced Mark Zuckerberg does more harm than good for Facebook like literally they lucked out on the landing the business model early but it feels it has been in an ongoing decline and everything else they have tried has failed spectacularly (and particularly things Mark has put his whole weight behind) They never became anything more than the ad company

The transition to mobile-first was a good call. Probably the last good call though. Oh, and buying Instagram.

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#379

Post by matchbok3 »

shimman wrote: post #354
singpolyma3 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because hiring people and paying them a salary is somehow hurting those people?

No but purposely forcing economic hardship on people when you're one of the most profitable entities on earth will always be a shitty thing. I'm sorry but treating workers like replaceable cogs is disgusting behavior and I'm not shocked that big tech routinely turns to anti-worker devices to enforce control.

Nobody is forcing anything to happen. People chose to work there. They get paid a HUGE amount of money. Now their projects ended or whatever.

What world do you live in? Suicide? Crazy talk.

Re: Meta tells staff it will cut 10% of jobs

#380

Post by tootie »

rsanek wrote: post #255
hintymad wrote: post #205

Let's be honest, Meta over hired. Big time. If anyone ever interviewed a few Meta engineers, he would easily see that a large percentage of them had really small, and sometimes bullshit scopes. As a result, such engineers couldn't articulate what they do in Meta, couldn't deep dive into their own tech stacks, nor could solve common-sense design questions when they just deviated a bit from those popular interview ques…

Meta has about 10% more employees now than they did at the end of 2021. They currently have less than half the employees of Google or Apple; only a third of Microsoft. If you're right, the rest of big tech is in a much worse position.

Meta has substantially less revenue and less diversification than Apple or Google.
Post reply on HN