Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce • Hacker News Board

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#851

Post by bacr » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:21 AM UTC

playing_colours wrote: post #821

joyj2nd wrote: post #761

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to break the news for you, but German salaries are 50% of US salaries (US salaries may vary by location). My first offer on the cost as my first job was 160k USD. In Germany they were backing out in Munich if I asked for 60k EUR. "Cost of living in Munich (one of Germany's most expensive cities) vs. SF.[1] And then Berlin (one of Germany's cheapest cities) vs. SF.[2]" I think these numbers are outdated. Especia…

Berlin rental costs are capped by law from some time ago, and the numbers are actual.

The point still stands. Rental caps mean it is very difficult to find a place to live in desired neighborhoods. Of course, you can find places outside the ring, but those would have been cheaper anyway!

That’s not to say it isn’t sensible social policy. It is less disruptive to people who have lived there for a long time. But if you move for work, you will have to either pay a lot more than you would have in 2011, or get lucky.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#852

Post by prawn » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:24 AM UTC

nilkn wrote: post #525

itake wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, companies are realizing that maybe they don't need to spend thousands of dollars for last minute business trips if they can just do a zoom meeting instead.

Personally I don’t think this is true. The entire sales team where I work is itching to be able to travel to potential customers again. They’re not at all satisfied with Zoom as a replacement.

I have a friend desperate to get out to his overseas clients before they start thinking about not renewing his contract in favour of a local option. (He is a specialised architect working with a luxury auto brand.)

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#853

Post by jpdb » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:35 AM UTC

CapricornNoble wrote: post #799

adrianN wrote: post #749

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Just buy your own factory" as a response to the power imbalance between the workers and the owners of the means of production is the controversial statement.

Depending on your target industry, "a factory" can be as simple as some old yet reliable drill presses and lathes, and then hiring a machinist or two. How is the flexibility to do this "controversial"? https://youtu.be/xXze8_SzW28?t=431 <---Granted he's got Youtuber money and other gun-sales related money to help, but the concept is the same....he's bootstrapping a factory after purchasing the relevant capital infras…

> Granted he's got Youtuber money and other gun-sales related money to help

This is the difference. Most Americans don't have access to this capital, or access to means of borrowing this capital, and if they do have the means then they might not necessarily be able to shoulder the risk.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#854

Post by 2rsf » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:41 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #696

TylerE wrote: post #695

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a...wildly imaginative take. Tesla sales are a fraction of any of the big three in terms of sales or revenue. They sold 192,000 vehicles in the US in 2019. Each of the Big Three sold well over three million. Tesla currently loses $2500 on every vehicle they sell

This thread is about innovation, not sales.

How are Tesla more innovative than other companies ? They kicked off a big conceptual change but I don't see that they have a significant technological advantage over other companies like Volvo.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

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Post by fcantournet » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:45 AM UTC

Joky wrote: post #380

polote wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's roughly equivalent to what anyone in France would get if they get fired

According to https://shieldgeo.com/terminating-an-employee-in-france-a-gu... it would rather be roughly 1 week pay per year of seniority. However it is hardly comparable as unemployment benefits would kick in (on average 72% of your previous salary after taxes, maximum duration 24 months with decreasing amount). For instance if you worked 3 years and your annual salary was 80k, you could get a benefit of 57k over 12…

You get 3 month of mandatory notice period (if you had a "CDI" which is permanent employment) You get 1w/y on top of that.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#856

Post by beagle3 » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:51 AM UTC

ves wrote: post #713

beagle3 wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is generous by US standards, but it's just nice for many other western countries, where the standard is a few months of salary, or e.g. one month salary for each year worked (that is, if you had worked for the company for 5 years, you get at least 5 months salary on termination -- Israel mandates that one by law, for example, and NOT paying it is considered a criminal violation performed by the employer)

My understanding is that tech jobs also pay a lot more (relatively) in the US than most everywhere else in the west.

That depends on your definition of “a lot”. About 20-25% more than Dennark and Israel and the UK (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23089392; the parent of that post says it’s 70% more than Germany).

20% difference is not little, but it is within the differences of PPP and average cost of living, so it’s not clear whether or not it’s more - e.g. food is cheaper in the us but medical services are much more expensive, so comparing how far money goes depends on your conditions.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#857

Post by discordianfish » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:55 AM UTC

acituan wrote: post #689

missedthecue wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But your pay would be $50k p.a. rather than $175k

But your healthcare would be very cheap, if not free, wouldn't be tied to your employment; education cost would be minuscule compared to US; kids would benefit from the first two factors too; minimum annual vacation would be 4 weeks, mandated by law. Sticker price doesn't tell the whole story. I'm not saying that the total benefit is lower, but the cost of earning that $175k is definitely much higher than the cost of…

Health care is >$800/month in Germany. I don't get why we get away with the notation that health care is free. It's not free, health insurance is simply compulsory here.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#858

Post by 2rsf » Wed, May 06, 2020, 11:59 AM UTC

matz1 wrote: post #546

cecilpl2 wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You own a factory. Your employees don't. There's a power imbalance in the employment relationship. Most people (who don't own things like factories) need a regular, predictable, stable income to survive, and finding new employment is not always easy. Therefore, people in most developed countries have agreed that by taking on an employee, it is contingent on the employer to provide some guarantee of stability. This is…

I consider this a downside, it makes it harder to become factory owner. You want to balance the power? Make it easier to be an employer, not hinder it.

Here in Sweden we don't see it as making things harder for employers, but making them act in fairness.

Swedish worker unions sees the success of the business as success of the employees and will help get there for example by fair to both sides collective agreements.

This means for example that unreasonable demands from employees will be blocked, and if the employer needs to cut down employees cannot refuse.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#859

Post by koheripbal » Wed, May 06, 2020, 12:25 PM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #205

chadlavi wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At first I misread this as 14 days and was wondering why everyone is calling this such a "lavish" severance. Now I get it.

Somehow 14 weeks also seems less than 3 1/3 months, even though they’re the same.

They aren't the same. 1 month is not 4 weeks. 1 month, on average is 4.348 weeks, so 14 weeks is actually 3.22 months.

Re: Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 25% of workforce

#860

Post by CapricornNoble » Wed, May 06, 2020, 12:25 PM UTC

jpdb wrote: post #853

CapricornNoble wrote: post #799

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on your target industry, "a factory" can be as simple as some old yet reliable drill presses and lathes, and then hiring a machinist or two. How is the flexibility to do this "controversial"? https://youtu.be/xXze8_SzW28?t=431 <---Granted he's got Youtuber money and other gun-sales related money to help, but the concept is the same....he's bootstrapping a factory after purchasing the relevant capital infras…

> Granted he's got Youtuber money and other gun-sales related money to help This is the difference. Most Americans don't have access to this capital, or access to means of borrowing this capital, and if they do have the means then they might not necessarily be able to shoulder the risk.

It's not like the capital just fell into his lap from a friendly Wall Street banker. Those businesses are ALSO self-started (to the best of my knowledge), especially his Youtube success. He's a prime example of someone working hard, spending less than they earn, accumulating resources, and then expanding that into ownership of the means of production as well as employing others.

It's not for everyone. Sure, most people have no appetite for the level of risk involved even if they can scrape together the money to buy some revenue-generating asset (I know a guy who left the Marine Corps as a truck driver...moved back to Japan, bought a truck, and then opened a moving company). Most people don't have access to capital....nor will most people ever have the intellect to write tight software code, no matter how many government-backed Code Bootcamp Initiatives there are.

To bring this back to the original point though, telling someone to bootstrap a factory, which is demonstrably doable in the American economy even today (for flexible definitions of "factory"), shouldn't ever be a "controversial" piece of advice. Especially on an pro-entrepreneurship site like YC/HN.