4 ms·

And how much is Bezos worth? If your company is posting profits and executives are rolling in unprecedented piles of money there's no excuse for layoffs.

bluedevil2k 4y ago
No excuse? Really? You don’t want to dial that back a notch and acknowledge the pending recession and the rash of over hiring in the tech market? And perhaps you’ve forgotten, Bezos isn’t CEO any more and doesn’t have anything to do with day to day Amazon.
- AtlasBarfed 4y ago
  If Amazon wants to be a pillar of the economy, then helping induce an even worse economic recession isn't good business. The weird thing is that the old industrialists like Ford understood this. They achieved monopoly or cartel status, and recognized that things like pricing, work schedules, and layoffs had actual feedback loops with their revenues and profits. Then again, maybe they didn't have the accounting technology and large scale macroeconomic measures to show that was a bunk idea. Those days of world wars probably had more of a collectivist survival view even in the super-elites, those days are long forgotten.
- insanitybit 4y ago
  I did forget that. Doesn't change things too much.
potatototoo99 4y ago
Bezos worth is based on the company stock, and the stock going up or down does not conjure "piles of money" to the company. Executive compensation (any employees', really) is a matter to the owners of the company. I don't own any Amazon stock, do you?
- triceratops 4y ago
  You don't have a pension plan, or 401k, or holdings in some index or mutual fund?
sangnoir 4y ago
How about the sacred "fiduciary duty" to shareholders and the Wall street gods? Sacrificing thousands employees on the altar of cutting costs stays their wrath,and they will bless you with higher share prices.
- jodrellblank 4y ago
  > "the sacred "fiduciary duty" to shareholders" It's imaginary: https://medium.com/bull-market/there-is-no-effective-fiduciary-duty-to-maximize-profits-939ae50d0572 https://medium.com/bull-market/there-is-no-effective-fiducia... https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/corporations-dont-have-to-maximize-profits https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-co... https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8146/are-u-s-companies-legally-obligated-to-maximize-profits-for-shareholders https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8146/are-u-s-co...
newaccount2021 4y ago
akira2501 4y ago
Are you suggesting Bezos didn't earn that money yet? That he still owes some duty or service in exchange for the money he's already received? At what point can he say he's actually "earned" that money and can spend it in whatever way he pleases? Should we apply the same logic to your life? My life? Everyone?

bluedevil2k 4y ago

No excuse? Really? You don’t want to dial that back a notch and acknowledge the pending recession and the rash of over hiring in the tech market? And perhaps you’ve forgotten, Bezos isn’t CEO any more and doesn’t have anything to do with day to day Amazon.

AtlasBarfed 4y ago
If Amazon wants to be a pillar of the economy, then helping induce an even worse economic recession isn't good business. The weird thing is that the old industrialists like Ford understood this. They achieved monopoly or cartel status, and recognized that things like pricing, work schedules, and layoffs had actual feedback loops with their revenues and profits. Then again, maybe they didn't have the accounting technology and large scale macroeconomic measures to show that was a bunk idea. Those days of world wars probably had more of a collectivist survival view even in the super-elites, those days are long forgotten.
insanitybit 4y ago
I did forget that. Doesn't change things too much.

potatototoo99 4y ago

Bezos worth is based on the company stock, and the stock going up or down does not conjure "piles of money" to the company. Executive compensation (any employees', really) is a matter to the owners of the company. I don't own any Amazon stock, do you?

triceratops 4y ago
You don't have a pension plan, or 401k, or holdings in some index or mutual fund?

sangnoir 4y ago

How about the sacred "fiduciary duty" to shareholders and the Wall street gods? Sacrificing thousands employees on the altar of cutting costs stays their wrath,and they will bless you with higher share prices.

jodrellblank 4y ago
> "the sacred "fiduciary duty" to shareholders" It's imaginary: https://medium.com/bull-market/there-is-no-effective-fiduciary-duty-to-maximize-profits-939ae50d0572 https://medium.com/bull-market/there-is-no-effective-fiducia... https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/corporations-dont-have-to-maximize-profits https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-co... https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8146/are-u-s-companies-legally-obligated-to-maximize-profits-for-shareholders https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8146/are-u-s-co...

newaccount2021 4y ago

akira2501 4y ago

Are you suggesting Bezos didn't earn that money yet? That he still owes some duty or service in exchange for the money he's already received? At what point can he say he's actually "earned" that money and can spend it in whatever way he pleases? Should we apply the same logic to your life? My life? Everyone?