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> perfectly executed business plans that don't have layoffs? Plaid was actively recruiting 2 weeks ago. In spring I (and many other people) knew these types o

> perfectly executed business plans that don't have layoffs? Plaid was actively recruiting 2 weeks ago. In spring I (and many other people) knew these types of layoffs where coming to tech this fall, the current economic situation was not some unforeseeable event. Nobody in their right mind thought the early pandemic rapid growth was healthy or sustainable. Growth for growth's sake has always been a ridiculous strategy. This isn't a case of "less than perfect" business plans, this is people ignoring every macro economic indicator and running the ship full steam a head when this is clearly reckless behavior. The frustration is because this reckless behavior always has consequences for someone else, which is why it continues.

y-c-o-m-b 4y ago
I think there's a shared responsibility here by both employer and employee to ensure long term employment. This is not to negate your points, because I think your points are definitely valid and the company going full-steam ahead is absolutely reckless. Having been laid off a couple of times during the great recession era, I never ever take a job without first analyzing the likelihood of a layoff to occur and how it would impact my role. I have a list of interview questions I ask potential employers and the bulk of it is around how they handled lay-offs in the past and how they will handle them in the future. I ask about cash reserves for such situations and I ask about how they handle growth. Asking these things will give you some idea of the shit show that will appear sooner or later. You're right; market conditions are unpredictable and there's so much speculation that it's difficult to gauge where things will go in 2-5 years, so you should always plan for an economic down-turn scenario regardless of how rosy things look at the time of employment. All of that being said, this is still a relatively solid lay-off plan and I think the bashing is a bit on the harsh side considering the outcome here. Nowhere is safe right now and if you think it is, you're going to have a bad time.

y-c-o-m-b 4y ago

I think there's a shared responsibility here by both employer and employee to ensure long term employment. This is not to negate your points, because I think your points are definitely valid and the company going full-steam ahead is absolutely reckless. Having been laid off a couple of times during the great recession era, I never ever take a job without first analyzing the likelihood of a layoff to occur and how it would impact my role. I have a list of interview questions I ask potential employers and the bulk of it is around how they handled lay-offs in the past and how they will handle them in the future. I ask about cash reserves for such situations and I ask about how they handle growth. Asking these things will give you some idea of the shit show that will appear sooner or later. You're right; market conditions are unpredictable and there's so much speculation that it's difficult to gauge where things will go in 2-5 years, so you should always plan for an economic down-turn scenario regardless of how rosy things look at the time of employment. All of that being said, this is still a relatively solid lay-off plan and I think the bashing is a bit on the harsh side considering the outcome here. Nowhere is safe right now and if you think it is, you're going to have a bad time.