Is there a reason why these big layoffs are done just before thanksgiving, Christmas etc?
EOY financials, usually.
If you have to do layoffs, the best time is now. The second best time is a couple weeks before financial reporting ends.
Apollo Layoffs
41–50 of 219 posts
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#42Is there a reason why these big layoffs are done just before thanksgiving, Christmas etc?
End of quarter, I suppose
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#43Apollo should cease to exist. It is a terrible product and basically designed for being a DDOS attack vector. Never design things like this. They are on the opposite track to the entire web industry.
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#44Why are software companies still grappling with the mythical man month? You'd think by now we'd have learned our lesson. More hands /= more productivity, at least on a linear scale
In many cases, the primary goal is to increase revenue, and eventually profit, even if productivity decreases.
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#45Is there a reason why these big layoffs are done just before thanksgiving, Christmas etc?
There's been lots of big layoffs throughout the year. There's always an upcoming holiday
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#46Is there a reason why these big layoffs are done just before thanksgiving, Christmas etc?
It's near the end of the quarter and holidays tends to be less productive time for employees with many taking extra time off anyway. Even with the very generous severance is still makes sense to announce these layoffs before some of the least productive times.
Also personally, I think I'd rather know about being laid off before going into the new year.
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
just curious, can one collect unemployment during severance?
not an expert, but my understanding is it depends on how the severance is paid off. If the company keeps you on payroll and pays you weekly, then you cannot collect unemployment. If the company gives you a lump sum then you may be able to. If a condition of the severance is that you sign a document saying you are quitting instead of being fired, then you cannot collect unemployment. My understanding comes from recent…
> If the company gives you a lump sum then you may be able to.
Yep, in the case of the lump sum you're not being paid after you're given the lump sum. I was laid off in 2014. Got 4 months in a lump sum when I went out the door. There were no problems applying for unemployment.
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#48Why are software companies still grappling with the mythical man month? You'd think by now we'd have learned our lesson. More hands /= more productivity, at least on a linear scale
If you're talking about Brooks's law, that's a pretty specific observation that doesn't seem like it applies here. It's very specifically about adding workers to a project that is already behind schedule. It doesn't certainly doesn't mean anything as broad as "a company cannot do more things by increasing its employee count."
But of the reasons Books gives, most apply regardless of the project being late, such as the communication overhead and the fact that splitting the project neatly is difficult.
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#49Say the truth. The expected growth of revenue by growing our workforce did not happen. Together with the tough economic climate, we came to the conclusion that letting 15% of our workforce go will put the company in a better position to survive and navigate the future. Hopefully there will be future opportunities that allow us to grow again. We are all very sorry for this. Personally, I can barely sleep thinking abou…
Nobody ever likes these announcements. Half the comment thread would rule at your “can barely sleep” comment. They’re too human or too detached, too brief or too prescriptive. At the end of the day, there are fewer things that matter to a firm than the text of their lay-off announcement.
Re: Apollo Layoffs
#50Apollo should cease to exist. It is a terrible product and basically designed for being a DDOS attack vector. Never design things like this. They are on the opposite track to the entire web industry.
Can you expand on this? Is this a generic criticism of GraphQL? Apollo server? Client? And what do you mean by opposite track?
I really like GraphQL but agree that it‘s not trivial to implement well.
I also think it recently became a bit less relevant for web applications (React server components come to mind) but it‘s still very useful for some web apps, mobile apps and generally for designing nice APIs.