Earlier quoted context omitted.
Index funds?
I can't eat index funds.
> I can't eat index funds
You can't eat cash either. If "can I eat it" is your metric, buy army rations.
Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
811–820 of 1001 posts
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#812Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#813Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#814Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean? Information about previous layoffs is all over the news, social media, and dedicated sites like Glassdoor. Only a fool or someone really desperate would take a job without doing a thorough background check on the company first. And while I sympathize with workers who have to take whatever job they can get, that doesn't apply to most HN users.
Glassdoor itself encourages users not to post anything factual, only opinion-based, because of the legal consequences [1]. Glassdoor is more like a Google business review than a background check anyway. Also your estimation of HN users is probably out of date with the current state of the employment market. [1] https://help.glassdoor.com/s/article/Tips-on-writing-a-revie...
WARN notices are public.
> your estimation of HN users is probably out of date with the current state of the employment market
You're probably not around start-ups if layoffs are a top concern.
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#815Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are comparing apples to oranges. Unemployment calculations from data recorded during that time have since changed. The same unemployment numbers are not the same mathematical objects being compared. At this point, we can never know the true scope of unemployment to make any comparison definitively, because the measurements no longer accurately collect the necessary information for such a comparison. You don't see…
> Unemployment calculations from data recorded during that time have since changed. The same unemployment numbers are not the same mathematical objects being compared We can look at the number of people on payrolls and the number of people claiming unemployment. You are in a deep tech bubble if you think we're in a recession let alone depression. (What we are in is a cost of living crisis.)
Recessions typically are pullbacks of the market sector for 1-2 years, but not necessarily slowdowns in growth, though there is no globally accepted definition for a recession.
Depressions typically have stagnant growth, starting in one sector, and expanding; with no prospects and a duration that can last years (plural). You can have a depression where everyone says they are hiring, but no hiring actually occurs.
Cost of living crises naturally occur during the latter crises given the chaotic nature of deflationary and inflationary forces (money-printing). They are not mutually exclusive.
Payroll data collection has problems with accuracy, people claiming unemployment also have data collection problems. Its not uncommon for the government to withhold unemployment benefit approval until some arbitrary bureacratic requirement is met with no means to contact someone to resolve it timely. I know several people who received their 18 month unemployment effectively as a lump sum and they spent days of labor trying to overcome those hurdles.
This causes a delay of action, and bursts in time (temporally) which cannot be compared except as an average. Revisions are subject to problems too.
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#816Earlier quoted context omitted.
Glassdoor itself encourages users not to post anything factual, only opinion-based, because of the legal consequences [1]. Glassdoor is more like a Google business review than a background check anyway. Also your estimation of HN users is probably out of date with the current state of the employment market. [1] https://help.glassdoor.com/s/article/Tips-on-writing-a-revie...
WARN notices are public. > your estimation of HN users is probably out of date with the current state of the employment market You're probably not around start-ups if layoffs are a top concern.
I worked at startups for 7 years. Interestingly, WARN acts are mostly irrelevant for startups because they are only triggered when a certain number of people are about to be laid off (100 or more, I believe). When an employer accesses your employment record, they can see very detailed information. A WARN act filing is neither comprehensive nor detailed.
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#817this is a good deal, better than most retention packages out there. But why is every ceo feels obligated to use this kind of meaningless corpo speak in these emails? "Macro Headwinds", "full responsibility"?
Because they risk getting punished by angry shareholders and risk lawsuits and risk losing customers if they deviate from the corporate speak to say anything substantial.
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#818Earlier quoted context omitted.
This guy takes "full responsibility," even.
When a CEO takes full responsibility for these things it doesn't mean that they submit themselves to the punishment that internet users might want. It's the CEO telling their impacted employees that, no matter how well you did as an employee, you would still have been impacted. It's the CEO showing you empathy for the hurt they cause you for having failed to steer the company in a viable direction. These messages are…
In what other realm of life does "taking full responsibility" absolve you from any consequences? It "shows empathy," what? Suspect: "I murdered someone and take full responsibility, and I empathize with the victim's next of kin," Judge: "Thank you for your candor all is forgiven, you're off scot free"
If a CEO did not take full responsibility, what would be different?
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#819Earlier quoted context omitted.
WARN notices are public. > your estimation of HN users is probably out of date with the current state of the employment market You're probably not around start-ups if layoffs are a top concern.
I worked at startups for 7 years. Interestingly, WARN acts are mostly irrelevant for startups because they are only triggered when a certain number of people are about to be laid off (100 or more, I believe). When an employer accesses your employment record, they can see very detailed information. A WARN act filing is neither comprehensive nor detailed.
> WARN acts are mostly irrelevant for startup
Well yes. If you're at a startup you should assume you're always a few months from being laid off. Everyone should assume that. You're fighing to survive; the default is dead.
Dropbox, on the other hand, is not a start-up. It's had to file WARN notices [1]. "Nobody can do a background check on a company to see who they laid off or fired before they work there" is false.
Re: Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
#820I'm always a bit confused by profitable companies with (presumably) large reserves laying off lots of people. I get that they want to remain profitable. But sure 500ish people could be put to some use? A new product, a new market, a spinoff. Whatever? Are you telling me that no one in such a big, wealthy company of clever engineers has any use for a bunch of talented people?
Dropbox was barely cash-flow positive (basically meaning profitable excluding equity compensation) when it had its IPO. It's been having trouble expanding from the consumer space into the business space, and I wouldn't be surprised if its profits are slim.
Also, they've repeatedly tried to create new products. Carousel, Mailbox, and others. Dropbox has had little to no success outside of its core business. While it does that core business very well, it has stiff competition, and the market seems to be already tapped out.