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As a Xoogler, I was really annoyed that Google has massive layoffs while raking in so much profit. It shows a level of short-sightedness that went against the i

by sxp 4y ago

As a Xoogler, I was really annoyed that Google has massive layoffs while raking in so much profit. It shows a level of short-sightedness that went against the ideal Google culture mentioned in the original article.

MuffinFlavored 4y ago
Devil's advocate but a company doesn't "owe it" to their employees to sacrifice their profitability (keep them hired) if they aren't bringing the company value. Or honestly, they don't even really need an explanation. It's a privilege to be hired by a company. You need to do what they want you to or else they'll replace you with someone who will. If they don't need you or don't want you, they reserve the right to look out for themselves for whatever reason and cut you loose. If they ran around worried about "let's sacrifice profit to keep random people we accidentally overhired happy from a moral perspective", they would little by little seize to exist (and piss off their entire "profit-focused" board of directors, shareholders, etc.) They most likely over-hired, like almost everybody else during COVID. Why do they deserve criticism for laying people off instead of "praise" for offering 150,000+ people "good" high paying jobs? https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/GOOG/alphabet/number-of-employees#:~:text=Interactive%20chart%20of%20Alphabet%20(GOOG,a%2015.67%25%20increase%20from%202020 https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/GOOG/alphabet/numb.... I don't think it's a realistic view to say "they should sacrifice their profit to keep people on board".
- jahsome 4y ago
  Perhaps not in a fiduciary sense, but I feel it kinda does mean something if that's what they promised to those employees when they were hired.
  - MuffinFlavored 4y ago
    What would you say is a realistic expectation when you are hired? "We guarantee you a job for the next 25 years of your life no matter what as long as you perform well?" You and I can both agree that's probably not realistic. So what is a realistic expectation? 10 years? 5 years? 18 months? It'd be pretty unfortunate for a company to hire you and then lay you off within 3-6 months but... to hold it against the company as if they should've treated you better instead of looking out for themselves is a pretty weird way to walk through life?
    - JohnFen 4y ago
      It all depends. If the company hired me knowing that there was a significant chance I'd be laid off so quickly, the company has behaved very badly. If it was a surprise to everyone, that's just the breaks.
    - jahsome 4y ago
      I think my point is that I'd have different expectations about duty of care from a company with billions in the bank, and a mom and pop general store. I recognize "it's all business" but if either of said businesses are boasting "we have the best culture and our employees are like family" then dawg, it's not just about business anymore.
- JohnFen 4y ago
  > It's a privilege to be hired by a company. No, it's not. It's a business deal that benefits both parties. Nothing more.

by sxp 4y ago

MuffinFlavored 4y ago

Devil's advocate but a company doesn't "owe it" to their employees to sacrifice their profitability (keep them hired) if they aren't bringing the company value. Or honestly, they don't even really need an explanation. It's a privilege to be hired by a company. You need to do what they want you to or else they'll replace you with someone who will. If they don't need you or don't want you, they reserve the right to look out for themselves for whatever reason and cut you loose. If they ran around worried about "let's sacrifice profit to keep random people we accidentally overhired happy from a moral perspective", they would little by little seize to exist (and piss off their entire "profit-focused" board of directors, shareholders, etc.) They most likely over-hired, like almost everybody else during COVID. Why do they deserve criticism for laying people off instead of "praise" for offering 150,000+ people "good" high paying jobs? https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/GOOG/alphabet/number-of-employees#:~:text=Interactive%20chart%20of%20Alphabet%20(GOOG,a%2015.67%25%20increase%20from%202020 https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/GOOG/alphabet/numb.... I don't think it's a realistic view to say "they should sacrifice their profit to keep people on board".

jahsome 4y ago
Perhaps not in a fiduciary sense, but I feel it kinda does mean something if that's what they promised to those employees when they were hired.
- MuffinFlavored 4y ago
  What would you say is a realistic expectation when you are hired? "We guarantee you a job for the next 25 years of your life no matter what as long as you perform well?" You and I can both agree that's probably not realistic. So what is a realistic expectation? 10 years? 5 years? 18 months? It'd be pretty unfortunate for a company to hire you and then lay you off within 3-6 months but... to hold it against the company as if they should've treated you better instead of looking out for themselves is a pretty weird way to walk through life?
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    It all depends. If the company hired me knowing that there was a significant chance I'd be laid off so quickly, the company has behaved very badly. If it was a surprise to everyone, that's just the breaks.
  - jahsome 4y ago
    I think my point is that I'd have different expectations about duty of care from a company with billions in the bank, and a mom and pop general store. I recognize "it's all business" but if either of said businesses are boasting "we have the best culture and our employees are like family" then dawg, it's not just about business anymore.
JohnFen 4y ago
> It's a privilege to be hired by a company. No, it's not. It's a business deal that benefits both parties. Nothing more.