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This was exceptionally immaturely handled on multiple fronts: > Thinking there were technical difficulties, some employees logged-off and were never able to re
by mtm7 7y ago
This was exceptionally immaturely handled on multiple fronts:
> Thinking there were technical difficulties, some employees logged-off and were never able to return to the meeting. [...] Others tried in vain to join the webinar and got a message saying it was full, likely because Bird's webinar license didn't accommodate enough attendees.
> For the next five minutes, employees stared at a sparse slide with a dark grey background that said only "COVID-19." [...] A robotic-sounding, disembodied voice came on the line. The woman began by acknowledging "this is a suboptimal way to deliver this message."
> As the voice on the line was speaking, employees stared at their computer and began to take in the news that they were losing their jobs. Then their screens suddenly went dark and their company issued MacBooks restarted. By 10:40 a.m, everyone was locked out, just as employees were frantically trying to exchange personal numbers and emails on Slack and take screenshots of their contacts.
> It did not help that many managers were included in the layoffs and had no idea who on their team had been cut. Some resorted to messaging their reports on LinkedIn to see if they still worked at the company.
> [The person who gave the announcement] was not VanderZanden or a top executive. "It was a cowardly move," said a Bird manager. "Travis did not want to deliver the news."
> Workers were told they would be receiving three months of healthcare benefits but when they looked into it, they discovered the company is actually only providing coverage until April 30th.
- samstave 7y agoRemember when Solyndra stole $700 million dollars from the taxpayers by accepting a loan/grant from the Obama administration, then paid out a shit ton of bonuses to execs, then killed everyones accounts one night and people just showed up to work the next day to find the doors lock and all their accounts disabled? The CIO took multiple ~$75,000 bonus days and weeks before the closure. The IT manager got a ~$25,000 bonus days before locking all accounts and killing exchange.
- matthewowen 7y agoIs there a relationship between this and the situation at Bird?
- fingerlocks 7y agoThey both mishandled lay-offs?
- fingerlocks 7y agoCurious why this post was flagged? Not sure what rule is violated. Anyway, I do remember the Solyndra scandal, but I’d wager most don’t. I mostly recall the sparse media attention given at the time. Agreed, that was one of the sloppiest and mishandled lay-offs I can think of. That should be a case study of exactly how not to fold a company.
- d23 7y ago> Curious why this post was flagged? Not sure what rule is violated. I suppose because it's a political tangent.
- Qub3d 7y agoI see several reasons why this was flagged. From the HN guidelines[0]: > Eschew flamebait. Don't introduce flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say. Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents. > Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. That destroys the curiosity this site exists for. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- fingerlocks 7y agoIt's a stretch to call this political. The mentioning of the Obama grant, which is barely relevant to GP's point, is a far cry from flamebait. What are the other reasons for the flagging?
- samstave 7y agoThe point of calling out the grant, is that the US just created a two trillion dollar stimuls package - ostensibly to help small businesses and others from laying people off - yet we have the highest unemployment ever, millions laud off in a week and tons of businesses closing. Whre is that 2 trillion follars going? Funny you should ask - they pushed for no oversight. This is the biggest theft of wealth in history.
- heartbeats 7y agoIs it that bad? I mean, it looks bad, but no matter how they put it they're still getting fired. And if they don't like it, too bad. They don't work there anymore. It's sort of ripping off a band-aid: it's better to have it done all at once, than dragging it out over the course of a few weeks.
- saber6 7y agoYes it is bad, you royal jackass. Reminder: You can fire and lay people off while still conveying a sense of respect and dignity. This was absolutely not that. This is why people hate tech startups. They are pieces of shit in most cases.
- LiquidSky 7y agoYou are unfortunately getting downvoted, but you are entirely correct.
- heartbeats 7y agoYes, but why would they bother? They're not their employees anymore. Better for it to be a single, atomic operation.
- saber6 7y agoBecause humans aren't robots and having fucking emotions. I swear Hacker News becomes more autistic by the day.
- naavis 7y agoThat must do wonders for the morale of any employees who stay.
- heartbeats 7y ago"You're all still here for a reason. Eighty percent of this floor was just sent home. For ever. We have spent the last hour saying our goodbyes. They were good people, and they were good at their jobs, but you were better. Now they are gone. They are not to be thought of again. [...] I've been at this place for 34 years and I can tell you this is not be the last time you're going to go through this. But you all are survivors. And that is how this firm over 107 years has continued to grow stronger. So keep your heads high, get back to work." Sam Rogers, Margin Call
- jankotek 7y agoSimple email would be better and more clear than this disorganized mess.
- charwalker 7y agoAn email is a paper trail.
- emiliobumachar 7y agoI don't get your point. If you're going to lay off someone, what's wrong with leaving a paper trail about it? It's not like you have to include everything you never liked about each employee.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- mister_hn 7y agoI tell you: whenever they offer you a Mac laptop to work with, refuse it and choose a Linux one, where you and only you have the control. This the worst fuck up ever
- wdr1 7y agoSorry, are you saying it's impossible to have a Linux laptop configured such that a corporation retains control & not the user? I.e., such that They have root & You don't? And if both Macs & Linux can be configured such that the You are subject to Them, and both can configured such that only You have control, what is the difference you're getting at?
- mister_hn 7y agobut until now, unless you have remote ssh enabled and you know your worker's laptop's IP, there's no service for Linux to remote wipe the laptop, like in Mac.