4 ms·

> This is a key moment in our company’s history, as the whole world is dealing with significant uncertainty. Know that you are not alone. We are facing this sit

> This is a key moment in our company’s history, as the whole world is dealing with significant uncertainty. Know that you are not alone. We are facing this situation together. Our goal is to stay focused on living our core values and actively connect with teammates, our community, and our customers. The phrase "We are facing this together" must sound really hollow if you're one of the people who has been laid off...

nimchimpsky 7y ago
we are facing this together, except for you and you, and you etc
KingOfCoders 7y ago
I would have thought better of Stack Overflow than this business speak.
- abiogenesis 7y ago
  They've been like this since Joel left and the new CEO stepped in. Obviously their mission is nothing but to increase their valuation by tenfold now. Edit: This is not my guess, it has actually been said by Joel Spolsky, the founder and the previous CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMfxd9y0cMY&t=952 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMfxd9y0cMY&t=952
  - dehrmann 7y ago
    Hopefully they're careful going down this road. Remember SourceForce? Experts Exchange? If I were them, my secret (because what gets measured gets gamed) metric would be how many tech workers list their Stackoverflow profile on their resume/website/Linkedin. It's a proxy for reputation, and that's the thing they need to protect.
    - jaxn 7y ago
      That seems like a terrible thing to list on a resume to me.
      - dehrmann 7y ago
        I doubt recruiters would even look at it, but if you're trying to land your first job, it can signal areas you might already know. The interactions are also a lot like a job--how you ask questions and how you answer questions.
      - m_mueller 7y ago
        Why if I may asked? Non technical people don't care, and I've gotten recognition by some hiring engineers by it. One even started an interview with "I gotta thank you, your SO answer helped me out recently".
        jonathankoren 6y ago
        As a hiring manager I can tell you the sad truth about this and github links. No one reads them. Seriously. No one reads them. There’s simply too many resumes to look at. Having it something extra to look at, and it’s cognitive load is a hell of a lot more than anything else, because now I’m supposed to understand some random code dropped in my lap, or whether some rando’s answers on SO are quality, or not. (Points just tell me about how quickly it was answered, not necessarily quality.) Finally, assuming I did all that work, now I have to compare this to someone that didn’t list it, because they don’t care enough about SO to create an account (raises hand), or simply have hobbies outside of coding. It’s easier — and fairer — to simply judge the resume based on the the actual resume, and then follow up with interview questions if appropriate.
        declnz 6y ago
        Disagree - this is "your sad truth", maybe yes. Personally I've looked at it, even if very briefly, almost every time it appears on candidate profiles. One of the most important traits I look for in mid or senior devs is the ability (and eagerness) to explain and teach complex concepts to people who don't have that expertise yet. Bonus points if they also do this in a rapid, friendly, and humble way themselves.
- nickcox 7y ago
  You haven't been paying attention then. Check out the ridiculous series of non-apologies over the Monica Cellio debacle. https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/340913/627733 https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/340913/627733
mattigames 7y ago
It's becoming a meme, like a viral tweet said > I like how ads have gone from “buy a toyota” to “this is a difficult and uncertain time for us all...buy a toyota” Like when ever company says how we are in this together or how emphatetic they are in these difficult times it just fills me with dread, the opposite of what they were aiming for, it's clear that talking about the crisis is now just another trick in the PR department of almost every single company so there is no way to make those words not feel empty, so I rather don't hear them say anything about it at all.
- dylan604 7y ago
  It quickly became the new "Thank you for your service"
  - johnvanommen 7y ago
    Welcome to Costco, I love you.
    - dylan604 7y ago
      yeah, but that's just funny and was meant to be satirical. the other phrases are just empty words used in a way to fake sincerity. (maybe fake is too harsh for "thank you", but if you were really sincere, you wouldn't be using a catch phrase)
- gorgoiler 7y ago
  “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(1976_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(1976_film) This comment isn’t a rebuttal — I agree with you and every time I mull on these things I am reminded of the memorable saying from the movie Network.
  - bryanrasmussen 7y ago
    I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore. I'm buying a Toyota! On edit: wait, I don't even have a driver's license!
jaynetics 7y ago
Also the 15% layoff is mentioned pretty much like a side-note between tons of text about new features, free basic tiers, the dev survey, usage stats, and what not. Spin-doctoring can go too far at times.
guardiangod 7y ago
This reminds me of a quote from Jack Mah, the founder of Alibaba, from a few months ago. 在阿里巴巴二十周年时，马云提及未来的一个畅想：“30年以后，我们希望每年向社会推荐输出至少1000名10年以上的阿里人，他们应该参与到社会的建设。” Translation: During Alibaba's 20th anniversary celebration, Jack Mah expressed a wish of his: "Thirty years later, I hope that we at Alibaba can export, with commendation, at least 1000 Alibaba-rians that are >10 years seniority, to society each year, so that they can participate in the building of our society." If you think Jack Mah was talking about annual layoff, you aren't the only one. Needless to say, people are impressed (sarcastically) that he even made layoffs sound so patriotic.
- echelon 6y ago
  Wow, so they see employees as replaceable cogs that should be changed regularly. That's incredibly inhuman. Who would ever want to work at such a place? If I build a company, I want it to be so interesting and fulfilling that people never want to leave.
  - namelosw 6y ago
    It's a place filled so much drama, dwarfing all its peers. Sadly, there are still countless people dream of working there. And even more sadly, people don't want to leave, so they regularly fire people and then they can abuse the rest even more.
  - scarface74 6y ago
    Every big company sees employees as cogs. Most just wont admit it. But see Netflix. “We are a professional sports team not a family.”
9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
The whole letter is really tone-deaf. First paragraphs of guff about "stay focused on living our core values", "Let’s all continue to take care of each other", and then whoops, we just fired 15%! Then again, they've got a solid track record, in a previous moderation kerfuffle they pulled their initial "apology" after they racked up north of 2000 downvotes. http://web.archive.org/web/20191208001413/https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334248/an-update-to-our-community-and-an-apology http://web.archive.org/web/20191208001413/https://meta.stack...
oefrha 7y ago
“We’re laying you off. The whole world is dealing with significant uncertainty, we’re not alone in layoffs, you’re not alone in being laid off, so you probably won’t find a job elsewhere either. Good luck.”
edo 7y ago
So painful to read a fluffed up speech about standing together while firing 15% of workforce during a crisis. If you need to fire people, own it.
unishark 7y ago
85% of us are in this together.
- foolmeonce 6y ago
  (Until next round.) It is hard to imagine a company like SE being more relevant once people can meet again.

nimchimpsky 7y ago

we are facing this together, except for you and you, and you etc

KingOfCoders 7y ago

I would have thought better of Stack Overflow than this business speak.

abiogenesis 7y ago
They've been like this since Joel left and the new CEO stepped in. Obviously their mission is nothing but to increase their valuation by tenfold now. Edit: This is not my guess, it has actually been said by Joel Spolsky, the founder and the previous CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMfxd9y0cMY&t=952 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMfxd9y0cMY&t=952
- dehrmann 7y ago
  Hopefully they're careful going down this road. Remember SourceForce? Experts Exchange? If I were them, my secret (because what gets measured gets gamed) metric would be how many tech workers list their Stackoverflow profile on their resume/website/Linkedin. It's a proxy for reputation, and that's the thing they need to protect.
  - jaxn 7y ago
    That seems like a terrible thing to list on a resume to me.
    - dehrmann 7y ago
      I doubt recruiters would even look at it, but if you're trying to land your first job, it can signal areas you might already know. The interactions are also a lot like a job--how you ask questions and how you answer questions.
    - m_mueller 7y ago
      Why if I may asked? Non technical people don't care, and I've gotten recognition by some hiring engineers by it. One even started an interview with "I gotta thank you, your SO answer helped me out recently".
      - jonathankoren 6y ago
        As a hiring manager I can tell you the sad truth about this and github links. No one reads them. Seriously. No one reads them. There’s simply too many resumes to look at. Having it something extra to look at, and it’s cognitive load is a hell of a lot more than anything else, because now I’m supposed to understand some random code dropped in my lap, or whether some rando’s answers on SO are quality, or not. (Points just tell me about how quickly it was answered, not necessarily quality.) Finally, assuming I did all that work, now I have to compare this to someone that didn’t list it, because they don’t care enough about SO to create an account (raises hand), or simply have hobbies outside of coding. It’s easier — and fairer — to simply judge the resume based on the the actual resume, and then follow up with interview questions if appropriate.
        declnz 6y ago
        Disagree - this is "your sad truth", maybe yes. Personally I've looked at it, even if very briefly, almost every time it appears on candidate profiles. One of the most important traits I look for in mid or senior devs is the ability (and eagerness) to explain and teach complex concepts to people who don't have that expertise yet. Bonus points if they also do this in a rapid, friendly, and humble way themselves.
nickcox 7y ago
You haven't been paying attention then. Check out the ridiculous series of non-apologies over the Monica Cellio debacle. https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/340913/627733 https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/340913/627733

mattigames 7y ago

It's becoming a meme, like a viral tweet said > I like how ads have gone from “buy a toyota” to “this is a difficult and uncertain time for us all...buy a toyota” Like when ever company says how we are in this together or how emphatetic they are in these difficult times it just fills me with dread, the opposite of what they were aiming for, it's clear that talking about the crisis is now just another trick in the PR department of almost every single company so there is no way to make those words not feel empty, so I rather don't hear them say anything about it at all.

dylan604 7y ago
It quickly became the new "Thank you for your service"
- johnvanommen 7y ago
  Welcome to Costco, I love you.
  - dylan604 7y ago
    yeah, but that's just funny and was meant to be satirical. the other phrases are just empty words used in a way to fake sincerity. (maybe fake is too harsh for "thank you", but if you were really sincere, you wouldn't be using a catch phrase)
gorgoiler 7y ago
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(1976_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(1976_film) This comment isn’t a rebuttal — I agree with you and every time I mull on these things I am reminded of the memorable saying from the movie Network.
- bryanrasmussen 7y ago
  I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore. I'm buying a Toyota! On edit: wait, I don't even have a driver's license!

jaynetics 7y ago

Also the 15% layoff is mentioned pretty much like a side-note between tons of text about new features, free basic tiers, the dev survey, usage stats, and what not. Spin-doctoring can go too far at times.

guardiangod 7y ago

This reminds me of a quote from Jack Mah, the founder of Alibaba, from a few months ago. 在阿里巴巴二十周年时，马云提及未来的一个畅想：“30年以后，我们希望每年向社会推荐输出至少1000名10年以上的阿里人，他们应该参与到社会的建设。” Translation: During Alibaba's 20th anniversary celebration, Jack Mah expressed a wish of his: "Thirty years later, I hope that we at Alibaba can export, with commendation, at least 1000 Alibaba-rians that are >10 years seniority, to society each year, so that they can participate in the building of our society." If you think Jack Mah was talking about annual layoff, you aren't the only one. Needless to say, people are impressed (sarcastically) that he even made layoffs sound so patriotic.

echelon 6y ago
Wow, so they see employees as replaceable cogs that should be changed regularly. That's incredibly inhuman. Who would ever want to work at such a place? If I build a company, I want it to be so interesting and fulfilling that people never want to leave.
- namelosw 6y ago
  It's a place filled so much drama, dwarfing all its peers. Sadly, there are still countless people dream of working there. And even more sadly, people don't want to leave, so they regularly fire people and then they can abuse the rest even more.
- scarface74 6y ago
  Every big company sees employees as cogs. Most just wont admit it. But see Netflix. “We are a professional sports team not a family.”

9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago

The whole letter is really tone-deaf. First paragraphs of guff about "stay focused on living our core values", "Let’s all continue to take care of each other", and then whoops, we just fired 15%! Then again, they've got a solid track record, in a previous moderation kerfuffle they pulled their initial "apology" after they racked up north of 2000 downvotes. http://web.archive.org/web/20191208001413/https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334248/an-update-to-our-community-and-an-apology http://web.archive.org/web/20191208001413/https://meta.stack...

oefrha 7y ago

“We’re laying you off. The whole world is dealing with significant uncertainty, we’re not alone in layoffs, you’re not alone in being laid off, so you probably won’t find a job elsewhere either. Good luck.”

edo 7y ago

So painful to read a fluffed up speech about standing together while firing 15% of workforce during a crisis. If you need to fire people, own it.

unishark 7y ago

85% of us are in this together.

foolmeonce 6y ago
(Until next round.) It is hard to imagine a company like SE being more relevant once people can meet again.