Hey this has been happening at my work! It definitely isn’t a complete dumpster fire over here now, that knowledge and experience from those hundreds of people wasn’t critical or anything, the people who are left are totally working well and not just scraping by under constant fear of being fired next, it’s fine
They always underestimate the morale killer. They think HR sending out a few notes will smooth things over. Nope, that job security just hit the floor, people are scared. Productivity drops while everyone processes, people start wondering if they should look elsewhere, it takes years to rebuild from a big layoff like that
My (soon to be ex) company gets around the rebuild step by doing annual layoffs.
they are so clueless. half of my team got laid off on friday, and we got an email from our manager inviting us to attend a different team’s standup in addition to our own so we could feel more “connected”.
the only thing another standup is going to make me feel is fucking pissed off
maybe you just need a pizza party. There they can explain how laying off half your team was a good thing so they can buy another Audi
My employer had a slightly better reason to do layoffs, because our financial situation then was pretty bad and still is pretty bad. I don’t mean “we got 30% profit instead of 31%!”, but “we aren’t making money and we have no money”. Layoffs were more understandable than usual given the situation and circumstances.
And even in these conditions, I still think it was a terrible decision. Morale was ultra low after the layoffs, and the situation led to quite a few people who did survive to leave of their own volition for better opportunities. We lost talent in the layoffs, and then we lost talent in everyone who felt like they were on a sinking ship. Which, in turn, has led to even more people feeling like it’s a sinking ship with the writing on the wall.
My management chain is completely gone. I directly report to an executive now, where previously there was my supervisor, his supervisor, his supervisor, and then the executive. Where there were perhaps 10-15 system engineers both in and outside my team, there are now like 3-4 of us thanks to layoffs and departures. And if one of these guys leave, I’m going to find a new job and put in my two weeks once I land one.
The silver lining is that my job security has never been better, because they’ve created a situation where they literally can’t afford to lose me or my colleagues. We’re all on critical projects, and at the point where a new person just wouldn’t be helpful, because they don’t have the proper time to learn and get caught up before we need these projects finished.
In short? Layoffs are a terrible decision, even when you’re in terrible financial straits. You risk a death spiral that makes things even worse and worse.
Dude, just start looking. Don’t wait for somebody else to leave, be that person.
If somebody else leaves, your workload will increase even more while you try to find a new job. Just take the initiative. And next time, be quicker about it too. Protect yourself.
My company built a big lab with expensive equipment and then laid off the person who was an expert in using all of it.
I’m sure that won’t have any negative consequence. Please do not question the decisions of our enlightened leaders or you won’t have pizza.
I work in an industry where it’s kind of normal to have large fluctuations. Layoffs at least go by seniority, so only new people are terrified.
I honestly feel you shouldn’t be able to declare money saved from layoffs as a good thing, shouldn’t profit be a sign of growth but if you really could keep growing you’d still need that staff
It’s not a good thing if you know what you’re looking at. Of course, the average investor doesn’t have a clue. Half the problem is that there’s a lot that can’t be conveyed in financial statements. I’ve worked for companies that I would never buy any stock in because it’s like you get there and realize that they completely destroyed any chance at long term viability for some small short term gains. Even if they’re profitable. Corporations that focus on building a high quality, sustainable business that aims to earn a modest profit are an exceptionally rare breed.
You certainly won’t have to rehire many of them in a week or two as your operations turn to shit.
Wait till they demand contractor rates!
As long as you don’t go full Elon, company can get away with it. You are just coping hard.
You forgot to add ai to everything.
Add in re-hiring those same employees at a lower rate or off-shoring to India to get 3x the head count for the same wage and that’s basically what’s going on.
3x times the headcount 9x times the lead times. Spend more for less!
Good God Almighty. If I worked on a construction job, you’d see a bunch of people trying to pound screws in with the head of a screwdriver. Meanwhile, I’m over here like, “No! What? What the hell are you doing?!Wait, did you just try to solder too boards together with a blow torch? Oh fuck. Now the building is on fire.”
And of course, management is like, “Why is the building on fire?? Isn’t this like the twelfth time the building has been on fire?”
Yes. Yes it is, because you geniuses fired all the guys who knew anything about construction and hired a bunch of people who were able to identify screwdrivers without asking them if they knew how to use one.
Now, if we were actually in construction, this would be completely ludicrous. But if you work in technology, it’s considered a “good business decision” because it has a “positive impact on the bottom line”. …for about 5 minutes anyway.
The problem is that these assholes never regret because there are no consequences.
There are consequences, but those consequences are a big fat bonus and a golden parachute.
My company 😢
This shit sucks. Some Silicon Valley shit company bought ours and they’re closing us down after only half a year. Feels so unfair. Our company was doing well while theirs is going down the shitter with huge loans and promising the moon but delivering fuck all. Silicon Valley culture is toxic shit
Typical Private Equity deal… The buyers take a massive loan in the name of the company they are buying then they use the sudden massive interest payments to explain the declining profits and the need to downsize. Then they find a way to squirrel out of the loans claiming the company sucked and let banks take remaining assets (or losses) and maybe resell the intellectual property to someone else right before that.
So you mean that banks are dumb and give away money for free and then just take the losses and repeat thr process?
Actually banks take collateral that is normally not what the private equity firms target and that actually seems to work, but the consequence is that hard assets of the firm (offices, buildings, hardware, cash, etc) are essentially given up
so think of your company as a horse
you sell it to someone for a nice price thinking the other one wants to ride the horse just like you did. but they are actually a butcher and make horse sausage out of it.
True, but we never expected that to happen with our company which was built on entirely different values. I am now committed never to let those vultures anywhere near a company I care about if I can help it, no matter their offer
Imagine how many brilliant innovations have been lost to the world because of this…
All employees are replaceable by a series of sales pitches on what AI is about to do right around the corner. That will keep pumping the stock price right up until the impending massive crash.
Pick the victims randomly
Even better, pick the highest-paid rank-and-file workers (which usually have the highest pay for a reason), so your entire workforce is made up of inexperienced juniors unfamiliar with the things they’re working on, who have little to no reason to stay at the company for long. That always works out in the company’s favor long-term.
Experiencing this now. They fired my manager/boss, who was the only engineer that had the license to sign off on a bunch of shit related to a bunch of our projects. Now i’m left picking up the pieces and working remotely with some guy hundreds of miles away that doesnt have direct access to our file systems. So fun!
If shareholders and executives are demanding so much money, shouldn’t they be the optimal target for cuts to maximize profitability of the business? 🤔
That’s a problem for the poors and whoever is holding the bag after I retire.
Shareholders aren’t the big issue. CEOs paying themselves hundreds of millions of dollars is.
Emphasis added since some seemed to not be reading all the words.
It’s both
Yup the CEO, shareholders, and middle management goals are diametrically opposed to the workers.
The hell. Shareholders are vampires that suck the profits from a business that should go to employee compensation. All while demanding more.
I wish there were more coops that I could shop at.
Fiduciary duty to shareholders is a gun to civilizations head.
Good thing my entire retirement is dependent of stock price!
The existence of shareholders definitely is the big issue
And remember that when they say shareholders, it’s not a large number of people. There are a few people who want to make money pushing for the layoffs, and they know what the consequences are going to be.
“In, fire 30% of the workforce, new logo, boom! Out. You are now a fully trained management consultant.”
