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The layoffs from mixed reality aren't all that surprising since lots of tech companies thought VR/AR was going to be the next hot thing and then AI popped up in

The layoffs from mixed reality aren't all that surprising since lots of tech companies thought VR/AR was going to be the next hot thing and then AI popped up instead. Azure is a bit surprising, but that division has grown so rapidly that they likely did hire some poor performers, and this is their opportunity to get rid of them under the cover of AI instead of admitting they staffed up poorly.

yazzku 2y ago
"under the cover of AI instead of admitting they staffed up poorly." Yep, the "AI" thing here smells of BS... like most of AI anyway. Just look how well our AI business is doing, we don't need that many people anymore.
coldtea 2y ago
>The layoffs from mixed reality aren't all that surprising since lots of tech companies thought VR/AR was going to be the next hot thing and then AI popped up instead. Yeah, to be followed by layoffs from AI when the next-next hot thing comes.
- kjkjadksj 2y ago
  Always so surprising how its easier to hire new grads than to just redirect your existing staff thats already integrated into the process and culture to work on something else.
  - Arrowmaster 2y ago
    New grads are cheaper
  - coldtea 2y ago
    A few explanations: - the "current hot thing" is usually something bogus that requires token effort (it's more about signalling to the market "we do that too") so doesn't need much experience until it actually gets real. - the new hires are cheaper, while the existing staff was starting getting dangerously more senior and more jaded (and thus demanding more, and seeing through the bullshit grind culture more) - the new grad hires also come familiar with the latest "hot thing" for free
WalterSear 2y ago
One take on Azure's apparent rapid growth - "receipt swapping" aka dubious financial engineering: > ...the number of users only grew by ONE percent between 2017 and 2022 while Azure revenues grew by 273%. Did companies really spend three times more for cloud services in the same period of time? Let’s have a look at that starting from the list of the biggest annual contracts with Azure. >...I checked all the names above and their cloud computing expenses are so minimal that they are not shown separately in their financial statements https://justdario.com/2024/05/what-if-nvidia-simply-tagged-along-with-a-microsoft-azure-scam-playbook/ https://justdario.com/2024/05/what-if-nvidia-simply-tagged-a... The articles on nvidia are just as mind blowing.
ok_dad 2y ago
It’s this kind of stupid biased comment that I hate the most. What logic says that these folks were “poor performers” rather than Microsoft hiring too many people? Everyone knows that in massive layoffs these companies aren’t competent enough to pick and choose the worst employees, it’s such a bad take. You’re just perpetuating corpo bullshit and harming the reputations of those who are laid off. I hope someday you get laid off and everyone thinks you’re a poor performer because of it.

yazzku 2y ago

"under the cover of AI instead of admitting they staffed up poorly." Yep, the "AI" thing here smells of BS... like most of AI anyway. Just look how well our AI business is doing, we don't need that many people anymore.

coldtea 2y ago

>The layoffs from mixed reality aren't all that surprising since lots of tech companies thought VR/AR was going to be the next hot thing and then AI popped up instead. Yeah, to be followed by layoffs from AI when the next-next hot thing comes.

kjkjadksj 2y ago
Always so surprising how its easier to hire new grads than to just redirect your existing staff thats already integrated into the process and culture to work on something else.
- Arrowmaster 2y ago
  New grads are cheaper
- coldtea 2y ago
  A few explanations: - the "current hot thing" is usually something bogus that requires token effort (it's more about signalling to the market "we do that too") so doesn't need much experience until it actually gets real. - the new hires are cheaper, while the existing staff was starting getting dangerously more senior and more jaded (and thus demanding more, and seeing through the bullshit grind culture more) - the new grad hires also come familiar with the latest "hot thing" for free

WalterSear 2y ago

One take on Azure's apparent rapid growth - "receipt swapping" aka dubious financial engineering: > ...the number of users only grew by ONE percent between 2017 and 2022 while Azure revenues grew by 273%. Did companies really spend three times more for cloud services in the same period of time? Let’s have a look at that starting from the list of the biggest annual contracts with Azure. >...I checked all the names above and their cloud computing expenses are so minimal that they are not shown separately in their financial statements https://justdario.com/2024/05/what-if-nvidia-simply-tagged-along-with-a-microsoft-azure-scam-playbook/ https://justdario.com/2024/05/what-if-nvidia-simply-tagged-a... The articles on nvidia are just as mind blowing.

ok_dad 2y ago

It’s this kind of stupid biased comment that I hate the most. What logic says that these folks were “poor performers” rather than Microsoft hiring too many people? Everyone knows that in massive layoffs these companies aren’t competent enough to pick and choose the worst employees, it’s such a bad take. You’re just perpetuating corpo bullshit and harming the reputations of those who are laid off. I hope someday you get laid off and everyone thinks you’re a poor performer because of it.