3 ms·

She laid off 250 people in 2020 and proceeded to raise her own salary by $2,000,000 per year over the following two years. Whatever her prior record is that beh

by Jochim 3y ago

She laid off 250 people in 2020 and proceeded to raise her own salary by $2,000,000 per year over the following two years. Whatever her prior record is that behaviour is despicable. Leeching is precisely how I would describe someone who demands more and more money each year from a company that's declining due to their own mismanagement and at the same time takes money from those who earn less.

gkoberger 3y ago
Hey, I agree. I was very against the layoffs (I built this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24135032 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24135032), and at my own company I have a very strict layoffs-are-the-absolute-worst-case-scenario rule (which I got from working at Mozilla back in 2010; we were proud to have been one of the few companies who had never done layoffs back then!) I think Mitchell has made many bad decisions the past few years. When I saw the news, my gut reaction was to post something negative. However, having known her and known all the work she put in early, I wanted to post a counterbalance. She wasn't a great CEO (and the $$ is a very bad look), but she's done a lot of good for the community over the past 20 years.
- executesorder66 3y ago
  So you agree to a bunch of examples of terrible things she's done, and then counterbalance it with a vague "she's done a lot of good for the community over the past 20 years"? Oh, and she was considerate towards your feelings in an email, and a followup email? I too have seen many corporate higher-ups be highly pleasant when you talk/correspond with them. But they do jack shit about the actual issue, but assure you that they care about your feelings. I'd rather she was an absolute bitch to everyone, but actually steered the organization in the right direction. That would have had a better positive impact on the world than a few placating emails.
  - gkoberger 3y ago
    I... think I made it very very clear I'm not a fan of her as CEO, nor am I a fan of Mozilla's decisions the past 11 years. But that doesn't change the fact that early on she was instrumental in getting Mozilla off the ground and it wouldn't exist without her. Both can be true at the same time, and I simply shared my experience of her.

by Jochim 3y ago

gkoberger 3y ago

Hey, I agree. I was very against the layoffs (I built this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24135032 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24135032), and at my own company I have a very strict layoffs-are-the-absolute-worst-case-scenario rule (which I got from working at Mozilla back in 2010; we were proud to have been one of the few companies who had never done layoffs back then!) I think Mitchell has made many bad decisions the past few years. When I saw the news, my gut reaction was to post something negative. However, having known her and known all the work she put in early, I wanted to post a counterbalance. She wasn't a great CEO (and the $$ is a very bad look), but she's done a lot of good for the community over the past 20 years.

executesorder66 3y ago
So you agree to a bunch of examples of terrible things she's done, and then counterbalance it with a vague "she's done a lot of good for the community over the past 20 years"? Oh, and she was considerate towards your feelings in an email, and a followup email? I too have seen many corporate higher-ups be highly pleasant when you talk/correspond with them. But they do jack shit about the actual issue, but assure you that they care about your feelings. I'd rather she was an absolute bitch to everyone, but actually steered the organization in the right direction. That would have had a better positive impact on the world than a few placating emails.
- gkoberger 3y ago
  I... think I made it very very clear I'm not a fan of her as CEO, nor am I a fan of Mozilla's decisions the past 11 years. But that doesn't change the fact that early on she was instrumental in getting Mozilla off the ground and it wouldn't exist without her. Both can be true at the same time, and I simply shared my experience of her.