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Zuckerberg's rightward policy shift puts Meta staffers on edge, targets Apple
- niceice 2y agoI'm legitimately curious about this as someone observing from the outside. Were they on edge when Zuckerberg had a leftward shift in prior years? And where is the center?
- r17n 2y agoI think it's relative. In the future, if Musk has a leftward shift, I think it would be newsworthy as well.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoIn that interview between Musk and Trump, Musk was telling him that CO2 levels in the atmosphere are increasing and that that's bad. That wasn't a part of the interview that got a lot of news media coverage.
- collingreen 2y agoIt's frustrating that "CO2 levels in the atmosphere are increasing and that that's bad" is what passes for "leftist" or partisan at all. I find the "don't look up" attitude so aggravating. The unwillingness for humans to take any responsibility for our actions is so frustrating, especially while wielding the phrase "personal responsibility" like a cudgel.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoYou have to understand the nature of politics. The left-wing position is, climate change is a significant problem and we should impose taxes on fossil fuels and low-MPG cars, subsidize renewables, etc. The right-wing position is, the claimed consequences can be mitigated with sea walls etc., the economic costs of the proposed taxes and subsidies are significant and will cause greater hardship than the original problem, in the cases where that isn't true the market will adopt the alternatives anyway because they're cheaper, the US would fail to solve the problem and only be put at a competitive disadvantage if the result is to export the emissions (along with the industry) to China et al, etc. But politics is a tug of war, so both sides stake out a more extreme version of their position with the hope of negotiations ending somewhere that moves the midpoint in the direction of their preference. So then you have Republicans denying that it's even happening and Democrats proposing to ban all cars and discourage people from having children etc. Which in turn makes admitting that it's even happening a left-wing position.
- lawlessone 2y ago>The right-wing position is, the claimed consequences can be mitigated with sea walls etc They'll make governments compensate corporations for their losses to climate change while those same corps fund skepticism.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoWhy would you expect them to be the same corporations? The ones funding skepticism are the fossil fuel industries. The ones lobbying for mitigations would be the likes of coastal real estate owners. Also, what does this have to do with the nature of partisan posturing? The corporations lobbying for mitigations may or may not even be supporting the same party as the ones funding skepticism.
- daveguy 2y ago> The ones funding skepticism are the fossil fuel industries. The ones lobbying for mitigations would be the likes of coastal real estate owners. As if billionaire oligarchs don't own both. ... It's not the companies f'ing around with the world as much as it's the oligarchs that own them. They don't give a damn who you voted for. If they can manipulate you to their ends, they will. Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, the oligarchs are the ones with the money, not the <insert scapegoat culture or heritage here>.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoIgnoring the obvious goalpost move from "the same corporations doing both" to "there are some oligarchs with widely diversified investments", you would then have the problem that your claim isn't true. It is actually the corporations rather than the shareholders doing this. The executives of Exxon don't want a carbon tax and perform machinations to prevent it. Some oligarch who has 4% of their holdings in energy companies is just going to have their fund manager get the inside story on whether the bill is going to pass and then shift around their holdings accordingly.
- pavlov 2y agoThat’s leftist? It’s a very basic statement of fact, on the level of “Earth is round” and “vaccines prevent diseases.” But I suppose quite a few people consider those leftist positions nowadays too…
- bluefirebrand 2y agoMusk has a pretty large financial investment in battery tech and electric vehicles and other "replace CO2" businesses, so I would be careful taking his words at face value to reflect his actual beliefs
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoIf your theory is that it isn't his sincere belief then you'd have to explain why he's investing in that stuff.
- financetechbro 2y agoGlobal warming isn’t a leftist issue anymore. There is no denying climate change now given our annual “once in a lifetime” weather events
- kdfjgbdfkjgb 2y agoZuckerberg never had leftward shift
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- watwut 2y agoWhat exact leftwards shift are you talking about? Why do people always have to make up left boogieman out of nothing? Whenever there is something bad going on with the right, someone comes in and makes imaginary stuff up just so they can pretend there are two equal sides.
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- basementcat 2y agoAround 2016 Zuck ordered the installation of cameras in front of some blackboards in an effort to identify those who attempted to erase the words "Black Lives Matter" https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/02/26/467985384/zuckerberg-tells-facebook-staff-to-stop-crossing-out-black-lives-matter https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/02/26/46...
- boudin 2y agoHow is it a "leftward shift"?
- archagon 2y agoWhatever else you may think, it would be jarring to work at a company where the corporate values seemingly did a 180 overnight.
- sidcool 2y agoWhy should this be surprising? He's a businessman. His allegiance will lie with whoever makes the business run. Ethics are capricious.
- riskable 2y ago> Zuckerberg recently told podcast host Joe Rogan that Meta’s profit would double if Apple stopped applying “random rules” that tax his company. So why aren't you lobbying Congress to get HARD rules set for app stores in the form of legislation? Ya know, to level the playing field for everyone. Oh right! Because that could--in theory--hurt future revenue from the Meta Quest store (and maybe other app store plans). GET OVER YOURSELF already! Anti-competitive app stores are bad for everyone including Meta. Zuckerberg's visions of grandeur remind me of that quote from Steinbeck about Americans... > "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." I swear, the richest businesses in America could be so much richer if they banded together to lobby Congress for legislation that benefits all of them. Example: Imagine if the US switched to a single-payer healthcare system; how much money that would save the big tech companies. ...but no: Since that's not their "core business" it might as well not exist. This is true for so many things from credit card/transaction fees to health insurance to USPS shipping prices.
- yunwal 2y ago> how much money that would save the big tech companies It would directly save them money, but it would also remove a significant source of leverage in salary negotiations (if you don't get a job, you won't be able to get decent health insurance). In the end, it's probably better for companies that can afford to pay for health insurance that people are forced to rely on them for it. It gives them an anti-competitive edge.
- redserk 2y agoI seriously doubt the overwhelming majority of candidates are asking for the detailed coverage information from the company's health insurance. I did this twice as I have specific needs with coverage. Both times were with in-house recruiters, and both times I was met with a rather confused face. So in an imaginary world, sure I can see this maybe playing out. In practice? Not a chance.
- scarface_74 2y ago
- scarface_74 2y agoSo really, this is what “convinced” employees that maybe Zuckerberg wasn’t about making the world a better place? This is like the naive folks at Amazon (former employee) who now are “rethinking” their jobs because how much Amazon has “changed”. But Zuckerberg is a lightweight when it comes to bending a knee and influencing dictators compared to Apple and Cook. They deal with China. Everyone working at BigTech just needs to admit to themselves that it was always about the money. They are all just going to shut up and let gobs of money appear in their bank accounts every month and stock appear in their brokerage account when it vests. I did my bid at BigTech between the time I was 46-50, made a little money, put it on my resume and moved on.
- flashgordon 2y agoSpot on. I joined big tech when I was not so young (having done stints several "IBMs"). The amount of Kool aid being dishes out was just staggering
- SpicyLemonZest 2y agoIt isn't an either/or thing. I don't agree with the underlying idea that Zuckerberg is right-wing now, but if you do the principle makes perfect sense to me. "I'm primarily interested in making lots of money, even in a job with no clear benefit to society as a whole, but my ethics prevent me from doing certain things or advancing certain causes."
- scarface_74 2y agoI mean they are working for Meta. They left ethics at the door the minute they signed the offer letter. Meta didn’t just become bad for society in 2024.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y agoI just don't think it's true that working for a company with negative impacts on society means that ethics are out the door and you might as well become Scrooge.
- DaveMcMartin 2y agoThey're even censoring internal discussions, how ironic. I wonder if there will be retaliation if the next administration is Democratic, after all, Trump set the precedent.
- lapcat 2y ago> Sources also told CNBC that employees who might otherwise leave because of their disillusionment with policy changes are concerned about quitting now because of how they will be perceived by future employers given that Meta has said publicly that it’s weeding out “low performers.”
- cantrecallmypwd 2y agoNever quit without another job that will match TC/RSUs because layoff $ > quit $.
- scarface_74 2y agoI agree completely. When I saw the writing on the wall for me at Amazon around May 2023 and a former coworker told me I would be crazy to quit then even if I did have another job lined up and miss out on a vesting period and I should wait for the “try to work through the PIP Or ‘leave immediately’ and get almost 4 months pay”. I played the game waiting for the PIP offer. For those who don’t know, once you get a PIP from Amazon you can try to work through it or take the severance offer immediately. If you fail the PIP (and you will) you get 1/3 of the original amount. If you appeal the failure and lose (you will) you get 1/3 of the 1/2.
- tarfacebaby 2y agoSo if I'm getting this right, the basis for your career advice essay comments ad nauseum is.. getting hired by Amazon and PIPed after a couple years? Fucking lol.
- scarface_74 2y agoNo my career advice is to focus on moving closer to the customer or stakeholders, don’t be a “ticket taker” and work on projects that show “scope”, “impact” and “dealing with ambiguity”, The other half is live below your means, invest and have a 9-12 month cash cushion. But everyone who works in BigTech knows that severance packages are nothing to sneeze at
- LoFtr1 2y ago[dead]
- SebFender 2y agoI know it's presented as many things in the media - creating instability, scaring people - but in the end this is Politics - always is and always will be. Don't be fooled by tech or money or allegiance - and it may take different form - it's all politics.