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From what I understand, Microsoft realizes this and gives them the equivalent of their OAI stock options in MSFT stock options if they join them now. For some e

From what I understand, Microsoft realizes this and gives them the equivalent of their OAI stock options in MSFT stock options if they join them now. For some employees, this may mean $10MM+

ssnistfajen 3y ago
More evidence the layoffs are 100% BS. Suddenly there's surplus headcount and magical budgets out of nothing, all to accommodate several hundreds of people with way-above-market-average TCs. It's almost like they were never in danger of hurting profit margins in the first place.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  You can lay people off without being in dire straits.
  - ssnistfajen 3y ago
    Yes, but that doesn't make it any more ethical especially since most layoffs over the past year aren't merit-based at all.
- mcherm 3y ago
  It is entirely reasonable for there to be dire financial straits that require layoffs, yet when a $10 billion investment suddenly blows up and has to be saved the money can be spent to fix it. In the first case it wasn't that there was no cash in the bank and no bank willing to make loans, but that the company needed to spend less than it earned in order to make a profit. In the second case it wasn't that the money had been hidden in a mattress, but that it was raised/freed-up at some risk which was necessary because of the $10 billion investment.
  - dralley 3y ago
    >It is entirely reasonable for there to be dire financial straits that require layoffs It's not entirely reasonable because Microsoft's finances are public. We know they're doing fine.
  - ssnistfajen 3y ago
    These tech giants' finances are public, because they are publicly listed companies. All of them are sitting on fat stacks of cash and positive YoY revenue growth. They have absolutely zero chance of running out of money even if each one hires 10000 front desk clerks who do nothing but watch TikTok all day and collect $100k/yr comps. Zero, Zilch, Nada.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
Options on Microsoft stock, a publicly-traded and stable company, are incomparable to those on OpenAI, which didn't even bother having proper equity to start with. The employees will get hosed. They never got equity, they got "equity." The senior ones will need liquidity, soon, to pay legal counsel; the rest will need to take what they can get.
- stingraycharles 3y ago
  Usually one would go borrow money from a bank with the shares / options as collateral in these types of cases if you really need the money for legal expenses without liquidating them.

From what I understand, Microsoft realizes this and gives them the equivalent of their OAI stock options in MSFT stock options if they join them now. For some employees, this may mean $10MM+

ssnistfajen 3y ago

More evidence the layoffs are 100% BS. Suddenly there's surplus headcount and magical budgets out of nothing, all to accommodate several hundreds of people with way-above-market-average TCs. It's almost like they were never in danger of hurting profit margins in the first place.

quickthrower2 3y ago
You can lay people off without being in dire straits.
- ssnistfajen 3y ago
  Yes, but that doesn't make it any more ethical especially since most layoffs over the past year aren't merit-based at all.
mcherm 3y ago
It is entirely reasonable for there to be dire financial straits that require layoffs, yet when a $10 billion investment suddenly blows up and has to be saved the money can be spent to fix it. In the first case it wasn't that there was no cash in the bank and no bank willing to make loans, but that the company needed to spend less than it earned in order to make a profit. In the second case it wasn't that the money had been hidden in a mattress, but that it was raised/freed-up at some risk which was necessary because of the $10 billion investment.
- dralley 3y ago
  >It is entirely reasonable for there to be dire financial straits that require layoffs It's not entirely reasonable because Microsoft's finances are public. We know they're doing fine.
- ssnistfajen 3y ago
  These tech giants' finances are public, because they are publicly listed companies. All of them are sitting on fat stacks of cash and positive YoY revenue growth. They have absolutely zero chance of running out of money even if each one hires 10000 front desk clerks who do nothing but watch TikTok all day and collect $100k/yr comps. Zero, Zilch, Nada.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

Options on Microsoft stock, a publicly-traded and stable company, are incomparable to those on OpenAI, which didn't even bother having proper equity to start with. The employees will get hosed. They never got equity, they got "equity." The senior ones will need liquidity, soon, to pay legal counsel; the rest will need to take what they can get.

stingraycharles 3y ago
Usually one would go borrow money from a bank with the shares / options as collateral in these types of cases if you really need the money for legal expenses without liquidating them.