7 ms·

Honestly, any company which leads from the top like this, instead of having HR just ambush people about a "difficult discussion" they need to have, is going to

Honestly, any company which leads from the top like this, instead of having HR just ambush people about a "difficult discussion" they need to have, is going to be rated up high to me. Even more so, a company with generous layoff terms -- which these are. No one is at fault here. What's happening in tech and the economy in general might new for some of you, or the first time in your working career that you're worried about your job because, for the past 15 years or so, tech has been largely insulated from other small cycles which have happened. Economies have downturns and cycles, and in your lifetime you'll see it many times. My parents struggled so much in the 80s to put me through school. My dad had to take a job in a different state and live away for 6 months just so we could keep our house and the lights on. I will never forget that time. Or 2001 when so many dot coms busted, as did my first job. Or in 2008 when half my colleagues in finance were walked out the door. Or 2011's mini recession. It gets better, and this all will pass. To me, it certainly makes a difference how people treat each other when times are tough, and I can find no fault of this CEO or company. Nor of Zuckerburg when I read and listened to his message and felt, to me, genuine sadness in having to make such a decision. It's tough times - let's all avoid cynicism and see if we can help anyone we know impacted by a job loss by our networks. Go write up a referral for someone on LinkedIn. Call a friend who's struggling and just listen to them. That's all you can really do.

sem000 4y ago
One of the best comments on HN ever. Thank you!
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
bigbacaloa 4y ago
Did he cut his own pay?
- Veen 4y ago
  Why would he? He's doing the job he's paid to do, which includes managing downsizing when it's appropriate.
  - williamsmj 4y ago
    Because he's responsible for the fact they need to do this? This email is basically: Oh dear we're in a tight spot, no idea how we got here, it's a mystery! I guess someone (definitely not me!) ran the business in a way that demonstrated an appalling understanding of our market, our customers, and the macro climate, and a fundamental carelessness with investor money and employee livelihoods. Don't worry though, that person was definitely not me, so I'm the right person to lead us out of this. p.s. look shiny severance packages!!! p.p.s. Once again, that person was not me, so there shouldn't be any consequences for me, other than a bunch of easily impressed tech workers giving me praise for the severance package.
    - yeeetz 4y ago
      It's the CEO/leader's job to make these decisions and to course correct when he's made a mistake. Publicly admonishing himself is, at best, a pointless display of virtue signaling. He could write 10 pages groveling for forgiveness from his employees and the public, but people would complain about that too. I suspect the overall CEO compensation package for a company the size and structure of Lattice is trivial compared to other expenses.
      - Apocryphon 4y ago
        > people would complain about that too. I mean, are we certain of that? Maybe someone should try it first.
        brewdad 4y ago
        One could sit and read 10 pages of groveling for forgiveness but it still won't replace the paycheck that's going away. It would likely be about as effective as a spouse begging for forgiveness after getting caught in a multi-year affair.
        williamsmj 4y ago
        The board and investors and remaining employees don't need an apology. They need better leadership, or they need performance management of the current leadership with actual consequences, as they would rightly expect for any other failing employee.
- dnissley 4y ago
  Does doing so serve some end? Or are you just wanting to see people whip themselves for your pleasure?
- joegahona 4y ago
  The letter does not indicate that any remaining employees' salaries will be adjusted due to this downsizing.
cj 4y ago
There are a few really positive comments like this popping up in this thread. I'm really curious how this specific press release is different than the Coinbase one [0] (or most of the others on the homepage this week), where the HN crowd was demanding that the CEO "take accountability" and resign, or reduce CEO pay, etc etc To be honest, this press release reads basically the same as 10+ other tech layoff press releases I've read this week. Including nearly identical severance packages. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34323336 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34323336
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  One reason could be because HN is more familiar with Coinbase's mistakes (not getting into the NFT scene earlier and letting OpenSea/MetaMask beat them to the punch, being a crypto company in the first place which ideological quibbles aside is seen as extravagantly unsustainable and thus doomed to fail). Lattice is in a more mainstream ("useful") industry and its CEO doesn't have a record of courting controversy, so it gets more sympathy. It doesn't come with the downsides of being a ubiquitous brand or association with a controversial sector. Plus it's a smaller company so it's more of an underdog. Also the startup funding offer is neat and intriguing.
  - whoisjuan 4y ago
    "HN is more familiar with Coinbase's mistakes (not getting into the NFT scene earlier and letting OpenSea/MetaMask beat them to the punch..." lol, who the heck thinks that not getting into NFT market was a mistake? If anything, they did themselves a favor by not building many NFT capabilities. NFTs might have a second chance in the future but currently is just a mass graveyard of scams.
    - Apocryphon 4y ago
      NFTs were a short fad (did it even last a year?), but CB being the market leader for crypto wallets meant they should’ve had an NFT feature ready far earlier. This is a “performance” critique of them getting big and complacent and unable to execute while nimbler startups ran circles around them.
samstave 4y ago
>>"Economies have downturns" - ECONOMIES require tech, regardless of industry, thus a growth in tech - even when there is a plateau in general economic growth.... They still need tech to advance, and adopting that advancement to remain competitive? Or am I wrong?
- brewdad 4y ago
  Are you saying it isn't possible for tech growth to get ahead of the growth in the overall economy? It certainly has in the past (2000 Dot Bomb).
- vrc 4y ago
  When a few well funded companies absorb all of the growth in headcount do you believe they are allocating resources effectively against the overall economy’s need? That’s what happened here. Company A got cash to burn at no interest. Decided to hire more people and buy more services. Service company B saw a spike in POs and raised more capital to do the same. So up the chain with C,D,E, etc. But when raising money or hiring, none of them strayed too far from their original vision/thesis because boards and the public don’t like that (see: reaction to the Metaverse). So it just concentrated more eyeballs and dollars on a proportionally smaller surface.
black_13 4y ago
[dead]

sem000 4y ago

One of the best comments on HN ever. Thank you!

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

bigbacaloa 4y ago

Did he cut his own pay?

Veen 4y ago
Why would he? He's doing the job he's paid to do, which includes managing downsizing when it's appropriate.
- williamsmj 4y ago
  Because he's responsible for the fact they need to do this? This email is basically: Oh dear we're in a tight spot, no idea how we got here, it's a mystery! I guess someone (definitely not me!) ran the business in a way that demonstrated an appalling understanding of our market, our customers, and the macro climate, and a fundamental carelessness with investor money and employee livelihoods. Don't worry though, that person was definitely not me, so I'm the right person to lead us out of this. p.s. look shiny severance packages!!! p.p.s. Once again, that person was not me, so there shouldn't be any consequences for me, other than a bunch of easily impressed tech workers giving me praise for the severance package.
  - yeeetz 4y ago
    It's the CEO/leader's job to make these decisions and to course correct when he's made a mistake. Publicly admonishing himself is, at best, a pointless display of virtue signaling. He could write 10 pages groveling for forgiveness from his employees and the public, but people would complain about that too. I suspect the overall CEO compensation package for a company the size and structure of Lattice is trivial compared to other expenses.
    - Apocryphon 4y ago
      > people would complain about that too. I mean, are we certain of that? Maybe someone should try it first.
      - brewdad 4y ago
        One could sit and read 10 pages of groveling for forgiveness but it still won't replace the paycheck that's going away. It would likely be about as effective as a spouse begging for forgiveness after getting caught in a multi-year affair.
        williamsmj 4y ago
        The board and investors and remaining employees don't need an apology. They need better leadership, or they need performance management of the current leadership with actual consequences, as they would rightly expect for any other failing employee.
dnissley 4y ago
Does doing so serve some end? Or are you just wanting to see people whip themselves for your pleasure?
joegahona 4y ago
The letter does not indicate that any remaining employees' salaries will be adjusted due to this downsizing.

cj 4y ago

There are a few really positive comments like this popping up in this thread. I'm really curious how this specific press release is different than the Coinbase one [0] (or most of the others on the homepage this week), where the HN crowd was demanding that the CEO "take accountability" and resign, or reduce CEO pay, etc etc To be honest, this press release reads basically the same as 10+ other tech layoff press releases I've read this week. Including nearly identical severance packages. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34323336 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34323336

Apocryphon 4y ago
One reason could be because HN is more familiar with Coinbase's mistakes (not getting into the NFT scene earlier and letting OpenSea/MetaMask beat them to the punch, being a crypto company in the first place which ideological quibbles aside is seen as extravagantly unsustainable and thus doomed to fail). Lattice is in a more mainstream ("useful") industry and its CEO doesn't have a record of courting controversy, so it gets more sympathy. It doesn't come with the downsides of being a ubiquitous brand or association with a controversial sector. Plus it's a smaller company so it's more of an underdog. Also the startup funding offer is neat and intriguing.
- whoisjuan 4y ago
  "HN is more familiar with Coinbase's mistakes (not getting into the NFT scene earlier and letting OpenSea/MetaMask beat them to the punch..." lol, who the heck thinks that not getting into NFT market was a mistake? If anything, they did themselves a favor by not building many NFT capabilities. NFTs might have a second chance in the future but currently is just a mass graveyard of scams.
  - Apocryphon 4y ago
    NFTs were a short fad (did it even last a year?), but CB being the market leader for crypto wallets meant they should’ve had an NFT feature ready far earlier. This is a “performance” critique of them getting big and complacent and unable to execute while nimbler startups ran circles around them.

samstave 4y ago

>>"Economies have downturns" - ECONOMIES require tech, regardless of industry, thus a growth in tech - even when there is a plateau in general economic growth.... They still need tech to advance, and adopting that advancement to remain competitive? Or am I wrong?

brewdad 4y ago
Are you saying it isn't possible for tech growth to get ahead of the growth in the overall economy? It certainly has in the past (2000 Dot Bomb).
vrc 4y ago
When a few well funded companies absorb all of the growth in headcount do you believe they are allocating resources effectively against the overall economy’s need? That’s what happened here. Company A got cash to burn at no interest. Decided to hire more people and buy more services. Service company B saw a spike in POs and raised more capital to do the same. So up the chain with C,D,E, etc. But when raising money or hiring, none of them strayed too far from their original vision/thesis because boards and the public don’t like that (see: reaction to the Metaverse). So it just concentrated more eyeballs and dollars on a proportionally smaller surface.

black_13 4y ago

[dead]