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I usually just casually lerk on HN for topics I'm interested in learning about or generally topics I don't have expertise in. This whole layoff discussion had

I usually just casually lerk on HN for topics I'm interested in learning about or generally topics I don't have expertise in. This whole layoff discussion had been an eye opener for me as to how uninformed a lot of comments are and just made on speculation. I was there at the North acquisition, the vast majority of people kept there jobs and so did the founders. People keep talking about these layoffs like they were done from some critical lens that can evaluate individuals performance. They're not! The layoffs are organized exclusively at such a high level the people making the decisions have absolutely no idea how the people they are choosing perform. These layoffs are temporary moves to get the stock price to move up, that's it.

uxcolumbo 4y ago
Thanks for chiming in, otherwise I would have thought the parent’s comment was correct.
908B64B197 4y ago
> I was there at the North acquisition, the vast majority of people kept there jobs and so did the founders. You worked there? I hired former North employees. Most of them were looking at a way out since their equity had negative value at the point [0]. Founders are "advisors" at Google. Basically a retainer when someone is under NDA after an acquisition. Regarding the layoffs, the company 1/3rd of it's workforce right before getting acquired [1][2] (So much so that some of the funding was pulled out! [3]). Internally, it was a patent play to keep the Intel Vaunt patents from getting auctioned to Apple or Microsoft [4]. > The layoffs are organized exclusively at such a high level the people making the decisions have absolutely no idea how the people they are choosing perform. Layoffs give leeway to engineering managers to trim as they see fit. CEO won't have a case for every underperforming employee or employee with an attitude problem. Mass layoffs are for purely economical reasons, but it's notorious that it's a pretty convenient way to get rid of "hard to fire employees" without having to put in place HR counselling, performance improvement plans and so on. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/kitchener/comments/hg11tl/a_vision_fades_alphabet_buying_canadian_smart/ https://www.reddit.com/r/kitchener/comments/hg11tl/a_vision_... [1] https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18236253/north-focals-smart-glasses-150-employee-lay-offs https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18236253/north-focals-sma... [2] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-a-vision-fades-alphabet-buying-canadian-smart-glasses-pioneer-north/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-a-vision-fa... [3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/north-inc-thalmic-labs-lays-off-workers-drops-price-1.5037229 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/north-inc-... [4] https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/17/18144221/north-focals-intel-vaunt-patents-ar-glasses https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/17/18144221/north-focals-in...

uxcolumbo 4y ago

Thanks for chiming in, otherwise I would have thought the parent’s comment was correct.

908B64B197 4y ago

> I was there at the North acquisition, the vast majority of people kept there jobs and so did the founders. You worked there? I hired former North employees. Most of them were looking at a way out since their equity had negative value at the point [0]. Founders are "advisors" at Google. Basically a retainer when someone is under NDA after an acquisition. Regarding the layoffs, the company 1/3rd of it's workforce right before getting acquired [1][2] (So much so that some of the funding was pulled out! [3]). Internally, it was a patent play to keep the Intel Vaunt patents from getting auctioned to Apple or Microsoft [4]. > The layoffs are organized exclusively at such a high level the people making the decisions have absolutely no idea how the people they are choosing perform. Layoffs give leeway to engineering managers to trim as they see fit. CEO won't have a case for every underperforming employee or employee with an attitude problem. Mass layoffs are for purely economical reasons, but it's notorious that it's a pretty convenient way to get rid of "hard to fire employees" without having to put in place HR counselling, performance improvement plans and so on. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/kitchener/comments/hg11tl/a_vision_fades_alphabet_buying_canadian_smart/ https://www.reddit.com/r/kitchener/comments/hg11tl/a_vision_... [1] https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18236253/north-focals-smart-glasses-150-employee-lay-offs https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18236253/north-focals-sma... [2] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-a-vision-fades-alphabet-buying-canadian-smart-glasses-pioneer-north/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-a-vision-fa... [3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/north-inc-thalmic-labs-lays-off-workers-drops-price-1.5037229 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/north-inc-... [4] https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/17/18144221/north-focals-intel-vaunt-patents-ar-glasses https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/17/18144221/north-focals-in...