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Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

news.shopify.com

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Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#41

Post by hotpotamus »

monero-xmr wrote: post #21
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a fundraising advertisement, not for you. The headline is to pitch possible future investors that Shopify will prioritize investor returns over anything else (as ordained by the Prophets of capitalism)

If Shopify can deliver its software with less people, that’s better for society. Put it this way - would you like to be paid to mow a lawn using scissors? I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower.

> that’s better for society

Increasingly I wonder what this means. What KPIs are you evaluating to determine if society is getting better or worse? And is it?

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#42

Post by orra »

monero-xmr wrote: post #21
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a fundraising advertisement, not for you. The headline is to pitch possible future investors that Shopify will prioritize investor returns over anything else (as ordained by the Prophets of capitalism)

If Shopify can deliver its software with less people, that’s better for society. Put it this way - would you like to be paid to mow a lawn using scissors? I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower.

> I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower.

Right, but that's not the actual dichotomy. First, if Shopify can deliver its software with less people, then with the same number of people they could deliver more.

Second, realistically the dichotomy, in the short to medium term, is will these people be employed in a skilled job, or will they be unemployed? You might say, that's not Shopify's problem. But let's not pretend unemployed people is "better for society".

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#43

Post by jossclimb »

MAGZine wrote: post #3

Well yeah, cutting workforce seems like it only has upside to these companies. Expenses go down, profit margin and share price go up. What're the workers gonna do? Protest? Strike? Hah. No, the remaining employees will pick up the extra responsibility and thank the employer for continuing to employ them.

I don't think its a pure upside. Anyone wanting a job would join one of these layoff companies, of course, but anyone already in a job is going to be a bit more hesitant. I right now would not accept a role with a lot of these layoff companies, too risky.

I don't think that bad smell subsides that quick for everyone.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#44

Post by justblaze23 »

MAGZine wrote: post #3

Well yeah, cutting workforce seems like it only has upside to these companies. Expenses go down, profit margin and share price go up. What're the workers gonna do? Protest? Strike? Hah. No, the remaining employees will pick up the extra responsibility and thank the employer for continuing to employ them.

> Expenses go down, profit margin and share price go up.

Growth also goes down, which means more firings and rinse and repeat.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#45

Post by dboreham »

throwawaysleep wrote: post #20
nus07 wrote: post #9

Last time I read a very reassuring and cogent letter by the CEO of Shopify about the layoffs . But at no point did the letter hint at further layoffs no less 20% which is huge. Wondering what the explanation is this time. I understand everyone has their worth and price but I fail to see how management and leadership at companies still have jobs and huge bonuses. Reaganomics has had 35 years. Maybe we need a new visio…

If a CEO ever feels the need to give out a reassuring letter, you know that layoffs and wage freezes are on the way. Management doesn't care about you, so anything that is about your comfort and well being is a scam.

Perhaps worth noting that management may care about employees, but management have bosses who require them to care more about them than they care about employees.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#46

Post by endisneigh »

orra wrote: post #42
monero-xmr wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Shopify can deliver its software with less people, that’s better for society. Put it this way - would you like to be paid to mow a lawn using scissors? I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower.

> I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower. Right, but that's not the actual dichotomy. First, if Shopify can deliver its software with less people, then with the same number of people they could deliver more. Second, realistically the dichotomy, in the short to medium term, is will these people be employed in a skilled…

the unemployment rate is 3.5%

> then with the same number of people they could deliver more.

this is not true to begin with. classic engineering fallacy

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#47

Post by monero-xmr »

orra wrote: post #42
monero-xmr wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Shopify can deliver its software with less people, that’s better for society. Put it this way - would you like to be paid to mow a lawn using scissors? I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower.

> I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower. Right, but that's not the actual dichotomy. First, if Shopify can deliver its software with less people, then with the same number of people they could deliver more. Second, realistically the dichotomy, in the short to medium term, is will these people be employed in a skilled…

You are assuming that there is an infinite number of people that can be added to Shopify’s payroll that will increase the product’s usefulness and increase revenue enough to justify their hiring.

The company leadership doesn’t believe that. There is a line where adding more people will not justify enough revenue increase, and that’s up to the company leaders to decide.

It’s worse for the people laid off, but ultimately wouldn’t they want to do something useful? In a new job they will be wanted. At Shopify they are not wanted.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#48

Post by curiousllama »

marcinzm wrote: post #29
Rafert wrote: post #22

Things changed quite a bit since this quote from February 17: > “There’s no cuts coming for us,” Harley Finkelstein told The Canadian Press. “We’re in a really good place.” https://globalnews.ca/news/9494197/shopify-outlook-no-layoff...

In my observation absolute statements about no layoffs are a strong indication of future layoffs in this economy. It's impossible to be certain in this economy so giving an absolute statement is basically a lie. Someone who is so brazen about lying to/deceiving their employees will have no qualms with doing layoffs. On the other hand someone who uses more careful language even if it costs them in the short term is so…

In sports this is the "absolute vote of confidence"

Once a coach has to say "[player] has my absolute confidence in their success," you know the player is ~2 weeks from being benched.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#49

Post by mochomocha »

monero-xmr wrote: post #39
mochomocha wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Bullshit jobs" [1] are a suboptimal and implicit mean to deliver on UBI without superficially changing the rules of capitalism. For exhibit 2, I'll bring in the US military and its economic impact on the midwest. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs

The US military is not capitalism. That’s socialism - a job and industry fully dependent on the government and thus is a politically created career. Bullshit jobs don’t exist in the free market, as no capitalist would pay for someone to do something useless. If that is happening it would certainly be because a government regulator required someone to sit there twiddling thumbs.

> Bullshit jobs don’t exist in the free market, as no capitalist would pay for someone to do something useless

And yet if you spend any time in any large corporation, you'll find countless examples of these, including in the tech industry. Don't you have any friend working for Google/Meta/${big tech co}?

Bullshit jobs can and definitely exist with capitalism: any successful and large business is filled with them.

Re: Shopify will be smaller by about 20% and Flexport will buy Shopify Logistics

#50

Post by monero-xmr »

bhargav wrote: post #37
monero-xmr wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Shopify can deliver its software with less people, that’s better for society. Put it this way - would you like to be paid to mow a lawn using scissors? I can pay hundreds of people to mow my lawn using scissors, and they will be employed as landscapers. Or I can pay one guy with a lawnmower.

“Better for society” sounds like an overstatement. I think you mean better for Shopify or their investors. Are you excluding those 20% MFs that are getting fired from Society? Where are they gonna do their scissoring now?

You are falling into the trap of the Luddites. As a society we allow layoffs because it reallocates skilled workers to new areas that actually need them. Otherwise why not pay people to dig holes and fill them back in again, forever?
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