6 ms·

I was laid off a few years ago because the company that hired me hadn't actually won the contract they thought they won. Really hard to pin that on engineering'

I was laid off a few years ago because the company that hired me hadn't actually won the contract they thought they won. Really hard to pin that on engineering's performance.

spidermanjones 4y ago
Recently laid off under conditions that I'm convinced are similar. I was at my org for roughly 9 months, I came in as part of a large class of new hires across the entire org. The last 4 months we were in crunch mode trying to land a big client that leadership continued saying would be a game changer for us. My eyebrow was already raised, because if one company is that much of a game changer, what happens if we don't get that client? Sure enough, as I was texting with a friend who was spared, he let me know as soon as the last person left the office that day from layoffs, company had the weekly all-hands and announced sure enough, they didn't get the client.
mech422 4y ago
I've seen this in the past, though it hasn't bitten me... I'm really against 'pre-emptive' hiring for this reason. Its not fair to mess with people's livings just because you promised something in a contract that you can't currently fulfill.
- willcipriano 4y ago
  The worst part is it isn't like they don't have another option. Could choose to hire a contractor or let people know upfront about the risk of the job not being there in a few months, but that would drive up the rates people would ask.
  - mech422 4y ago
    Yeah, and the new hire potentially turned down a long term job for something that evaporates before they even start...
- jlg23 4y ago
  > Its not fair to mess with people's livings... Given that this is the status quo, employees should adopt the same attitude. When working for an ethical employer, I'll work 48h/day if the situation requires it, but for everyone else, I'll bill them for the "quick question over the phone" outside of my agreed upon working hours; and I'll quit when someone else makes a good offer. Once a (spectacularly unethical) employer tried to pull the "think about the others in your team" stunt only to be amazed when I found them better jobs within a week and everyone else quit, too. I cannot say he learned from that experience, but I equally cannot say I regret my decision.

I was laid off a few years ago because the company that hired me hadn't actually won the contract they thought they won. Really hard to pin that on engineering's performance.

spidermanjones 4y ago

Recently laid off under conditions that I'm convinced are similar. I was at my org for roughly 9 months, I came in as part of a large class of new hires across the entire org. The last 4 months we were in crunch mode trying to land a big client that leadership continued saying would be a game changer for us. My eyebrow was already raised, because if one company is that much of a game changer, what happens if we don't get that client? Sure enough, as I was texting with a friend who was spared, he let me know as soon as the last person left the office that day from layoffs, company had the weekly all-hands and announced sure enough, they didn't get the client.

mech422 4y ago

I've seen this in the past, though it hasn't bitten me... I'm really against 'pre-emptive' hiring for this reason. Its not fair to mess with people's livings just because you promised something in a contract that you can't currently fulfill.

willcipriano 4y ago
The worst part is it isn't like they don't have another option. Could choose to hire a contractor or let people know upfront about the risk of the job not being there in a few months, but that would drive up the rates people would ask.
- mech422 4y ago
  Yeah, and the new hire potentially turned down a long term job for something that evaporates before they even start...
jlg23 4y ago
> Its not fair to mess with people's livings... Given that this is the status quo, employees should adopt the same attitude. When working for an ethical employer, I'll work 48h/day if the situation requires it, but for everyone else, I'll bill them for the "quick question over the phone" outside of my agreed upon working hours; and I'll quit when someone else makes a good offer. Once a (spectacularly unethical) employer tried to pull the "think about the others in your team" stunt only to be amazed when I found them better jobs within a week and everyone else quit, too. I cannot say he learned from that experience, but I equally cannot say I regret my decision.