81–90 of 284 posts
IME, if the company does not let go of executives, they are just tagging along with their peer companies on the layoff train. If they do make cuts at the VP/SVP level then the company really does have margin/profitability issues.
There was a sentiment in an earlier discussion [0] that this is "a war on tech wages" but for years the argument was that tech will make many other jobs obsolete (which would justify wage growth for tech employees). Remember, e.g., the Jack Ma era and his proclamations that we should all get into arts because tech will take care of the rest? Is the current round of layoffs an admission that the "software will eat the…
During growth, you make big plans and you invest in growth. You hire people to build new things.
Oh snap. Growth is gone.
You cancel your lofty plans and you stick with things that are working. Anyone who was hired for grand plan things is a burden and let go. Sure. Some under performers too, but I don’t think this current wave in the cycle is the end of software eating the world.
They're spreading it out over the full year. Interesting that they would announce it up front like this? What does this do to morale and retention?
IIRC, Salesforce also did the same thing. Announced layoffs that would happen over the course of a year, with some effective immediately. It feels like it would demoralize workers; everyone was already on eggshells leading up to such an announcement and it would suck to continue working while stepping on eggshells for a full year, wondering if tomorrow is your day.
I worked for place which did several mass layoffs. The way they did it was by emailing everyone at end of day Thursday explain that everyone needed to be in the office at 9am tomorrow. Then the next day they'd call people into rooms one by one and tell them they no longer have a job.
It sucks for two reasons, one because in the span of 24 hours you go from feeling secure to panicking about finding a job. And two because everyone who is still there knows that at any point the same thing could happen to them.
The places I've been where they've been up front have been much more pleasant in comparison. While people can feel stressed and demoralised they at least know where they stand and can keep their options open. Managers come across as honest and sympathetic to the situation instead of secretive which helps avoid rumours of impending mass layoffs every couple of months. Plus it also gives everyone a chance to say goodbye.
MSFT manager of 25+ person team here with no actual heads up on this. The writing has been on the wall for months though from internal comms so this should come as a surprise to no one. No one on my team has any information about this beyond the Satya email, so this is either a "no news is good news" situation (assuming you don't actually want to be laid off), or a poorly executed process. I'm hoping for the former f…
> The writing has been on the wall for months though from internal comms What did the hints look like?
There was a sentiment in an earlier discussion [0] that this is "a war on tech wages" but for years the argument was that tech will make many other jobs obsolete (which would justify wage growth for tech employees). Remember, e.g., the Jack Ma era and his proclamations that we should all get into arts because tech will take care of the rest? Is the current round of layoffs an admission that the "software will eat the…
Either statement is reading too much into it. It's a reaction to economic conditions and the state of the labor market.
There was a sentiment in an earlier discussion [0] that this is "a war on tech wages" but for years the argument was that tech will make many other jobs obsolete (which would justify wage growth for tech employees). Remember, e.g., the Jack Ma era and his proclamations that we should all get into arts because tech will take care of the rest? Is the current round of layoffs an admission that the "software will eat the…
It’s been said time and time again. During growth, you make big plans and you invest in growth. You hire people to build new things. Oh snap. Growth is gone. You cancel your lofty plans and you stick with things that are working. Anyone who was hired for grand plan things is a burden and let go. Sure. Some under performers too, but I don’t think this current wave in the cycle is the end of software eating the world.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The HHS disagrees with you: https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/pre-existing-co... > Health insurers can no longer charge more or deny coverage to you or your child because of a pre-existing health condition like asthma, diabetes, or cancer, as well as pregnancy. They cannot limit benefits for that condition either. Once you have insurance, they can't refuse to cover treatment for your pre-existing condition…
No, you are misreading it. They cannot limit benefits due to your condition , but that doesn't mean that they have to cover treatment for your condition. If you have a disease or syndrome, the treatments for that condition (whether pharmaceutical, outpatient, or inpatient) may simply not be on the list of benefits provided by the insurance plans offered. It's legally distinct from, but analogous to, a nodiscriminatio…
> When I think about this moment in time, the start of 2023, it’s showtime – for our industry and for Microsoft. He could have left that part out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People with health issues should still be able to purchase their existing insurance through COBRA, and, once that expires, through the public exchanges that are guaranteed to cover their existing condition. Thanks ACA.
Entirely serious question: is COBRA actually of any use to anyone? From where I sit it's always been pretty aspirational since it requires you to also pay the employer side of the insurance which is colossally more expensive than the employee side, and you are expected to do this while being out of work?
TL;DR: Treat COBRA as an options contract.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People with health issues should still be able to purchase their existing insurance through COBRA, and, once that expires, through the public exchanges that are guaranteed to cover their existing condition. Thanks ACA.
Entirely serious question: is COBRA actually of any use to anyone? From where I sit it's always been pretty aspirational since it requires you to also pay the employer side of the insurance which is colossally more expensive than the employee side, and you are expected to do this while being out of work?
Hopefully that buys you some more time to find a new job or line up an ACA plan if you're in a state with decent ACA plans, because actually paying for COBRA out of pocket for months at a time is indeed very expensive.
(It also would be totally worth it if you had existing expensive health care needs in your family)