5 ms·

Lots of people have commented on this impacting retention of current employees negatively, and that this will make it hard to invite new employees to Uber. Are

by xrd 7y ago

Lots of people have commented on this impacting retention of current employees negatively, and that this will make it hard to invite new employees to Uber. Aren't both assertions off base? If I'm a current employee, I'm underwater. And my tax implications are scary. So, am I not motivated to stay and let things recover, rather than walking away when I vest after six months? Like golden handcuffs, but made out of feces or something? Given the alternative, for Uber management, isn't this moment of the stock going down a good thing generally for retaining the big fish at Uber? And, for new people, isn't the calculus for the recruiter pretty easy: hey, jump in now, the stock is really low, get in while you can? Long term this has big implications for Uber if they need to raise a few more billions, but that's a big problem no matter what, right?

twblalock 7y ago
> If I'm a current employee, I'm underwater. And my tax implications are scary. So, am I not motivated to stay and let things recover, rather than walking away when I vest after six months? You have to weigh that against the realistic chance that the stock will never recover. That happened to SNAP and it could happen to Uber too. How long are you willing to wait? You may be doubling down on a sunk cost, and missing out on the opportunity to get a job at another company with more valuable RSUs.
- xrd 7y ago
  Good point. But if you go anywhere else, you are waiting 18 months for those RSUs. If I stay at Uber for a year and see how things go, isn't that a decision more people will need to make now, rather than doing the math on "I'll leave in six months with new job offer in hand..." In other words, didn't Uber extend the life of lots of people there by a six months or so beyond the six months they need to wait to sell after the IPO? That's a long time in the tech world.
  - twblalock 7y ago
    I think a lot of people will stick around for 6 months, and even longer, and that’s perfectly fine if they want to be there, but it’s not fine if they are staying because they feel trapped by their RSUs and taxes. I’m not saying you should leave. I’m just saying that you should not feel trapped into staying by your RSUs.
fragmede 7y ago
For said big fish, they can say to the new company "hey, I have this much value locked up, which I'd lose by moving to your company, you'll at least need it match it, for your offer to be competitive."
- xrd 7y ago
  Isn't that something easier to do when the company is private? Now that it is public, recruiters will know more or less what the stock has to hit before you can safely take that out. The employee is at a disadvantage now, to Uber management benefit. No?
  - twblalock 7y ago
    Not really. People do this when they move between public companies. It's just part of the negotiation over compensation. You ask for enough to make up for what you are leaving behind.
- ianferrel 7y ago
  "My Uber stock is currently worth -$3.2 million." Is probably a value that many competitors can meet. :)
  - xrd 7y ago
    My point exactly: the competitor can say "Let's give you a $0 signing bonus, it's a $3.2M bump over the value of your Uber stock!"

by xrd 7y ago

twblalock 7y ago

> If I'm a current employee, I'm underwater. And my tax implications are scary. So, am I not motivated to stay and let things recover, rather than walking away when I vest after six months? You have to weigh that against the realistic chance that the stock will never recover. That happened to SNAP and it could happen to Uber too. How long are you willing to wait? You may be doubling down on a sunk cost, and missing out on the opportunity to get a job at another company with more valuable RSUs.

xrd 7y ago
Good point. But if you go anywhere else, you are waiting 18 months for those RSUs. If I stay at Uber for a year and see how things go, isn't that a decision more people will need to make now, rather than doing the math on "I'll leave in six months with new job offer in hand..." In other words, didn't Uber extend the life of lots of people there by a six months or so beyond the six months they need to wait to sell after the IPO? That's a long time in the tech world.
- twblalock 7y ago
  I think a lot of people will stick around for 6 months, and even longer, and that’s perfectly fine if they want to be there, but it’s not fine if they are staying because they feel trapped by their RSUs and taxes. I’m not saying you should leave. I’m just saying that you should not feel trapped into staying by your RSUs.

fragmede 7y ago

For said big fish, they can say to the new company "hey, I have this much value locked up, which I'd lose by moving to your company, you'll at least need it match it, for your offer to be competitive."

xrd 7y ago
Isn't that something easier to do when the company is private? Now that it is public, recruiters will know more or less what the stock has to hit before you can safely take that out. The employee is at a disadvantage now, to Uber management benefit. No?
- twblalock 7y ago
  Not really. People do this when they move between public companies. It's just part of the negotiation over compensation. You ask for enough to make up for what you are leaving behind.
ianferrel 7y ago
"My Uber stock is currently worth -$3.2 million." Is probably a value that many competitors can meet. :)
- xrd 7y ago
  My point exactly: the competitor can say "Let's give you a $0 signing bonus, it's a $3.2M bump over the value of your Uber stock!"