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If you're an individual or a small business owner who wants to no longer pay for my services, you should be allowed to stop doing so. If you're a megacorp, howe

If you're an individual or a small business owner who wants to no longer pay for my services, you should be allowed to stop doing so. If you're a megacorp, however, you wield extremely disproportionate power over thousands of people, and your moves can send shockwaves through an entire industry and have severe consequences for your employees that have no real power in comparison to you. I think that moderating the actions of huge businesses will be far better in these situations, especially if their reasoning for mass layoffs is maximizing profit-wringing rather than actual desperation and an immediate need to cut expenses.

chrisco255 1y ago
Absolutely not, if megacorp feels need to lay off half its workforce that is its prerogative. Employment is a business relationship. Businesses have to be flexible to be competitive. The whole point of a business is to make a profit. If its not making a profit or growing, its at risk of dying, then layoffs hit 100%. The ship has to stay afloat. There's no fundamental diff between a small business and large business here except scale.
- 9dev 1y ago
  That just is not true, though. A company externalises a lot of its cost on the rest of society; laying off older employees, for example, that likely won’t find another job until retirement, are a liability society has to take care of. The only thing separating Workers with insurance coverage via their employer from eternal financial ruin is their very job. When the auto companies fucked up in Detroit, they wreaked havoc on an entire town. The tech giants raised rent in the valley so much, it essentially became uninhabitable to anyone but software engineers. There are more examples. Businesses are just as much part of society as individuals, and they have to do their part of this relationship. IMHO this includes being considerate about layoffs, and taking care of your employees.
  - chrisco255 1y ago
    A company generates value for society, or it ceases to exist over the long run. We have unemployment insurance for laid off workers and most people at megacorps also get severence when they get let go. Older employees can find the same jobs at different companies there are almost no jobs that are exclusive to any one company and even where that is the case you can still find related jobs. There is no excuse. Unemployment levels are near 4% right now, historically near all time lows. Silicon Valley is expensive because of nimby zoning laws. We do not have that problem in Austin as Texas is pro-growth and allows for dense, high rise buildings and apartments to be built at will. As a result, our rent has gone down significantly in the last several years despite population growth. Fix your regulations and the supply problems in housing will fix themselves.
  - mlrtime 1y ago
    You're not calculating the cost to society by keeping zombie companies alive that aren't productive.
    - Timon3 1y ago
      Could you share your calculations showing that it's better for society to let the old, poor and downtrodden die in the streets?
      - mlrtime 1y ago
        No, because I'm not the one making the claims, you are. Also your attempt at emotional manipulation doesn't work, it's very transparent.
terminalshort 1y ago
A megacorp employer holds no more power over its employees than a small business.
- lovich 1y ago
  That is a myopic view not born out by reality. It’s as truthful a statement as saying the law treats all equally since both the rich and poor are banned from sleeping under bridges.
  - terminalshort 1y ago
    And yet you completely failed to say what is wrong about it
    - Sparkle-san 1y ago
      Just look up any town that had a single large employer and what happened to those towns after that employer left. Small companies do not posses the same ability to impact an entire town of people and everyone who lives in it, even those that didn't work for the employer.
      - terminalshort 1y ago
        OK, I will grant you this one edge case. As for the other 99% of people, my point stands.
      - mlrtime 1y ago
        So the have power only when they cease to exist? That's an odd example to use.
        Sparkle-san 1y ago
        They don't have to cease to exist. They can just choose to relocate or close that location because they're big enough to do that. Maybe extorting another town for tax breaks if they relocate there while they're at it.

chrisco255 1y ago

Absolutely not, if megacorp feels need to lay off half its workforce that is its prerogative. Employment is a business relationship. Businesses have to be flexible to be competitive. The whole point of a business is to make a profit. If its not making a profit or growing, its at risk of dying, then layoffs hit 100%. The ship has to stay afloat. There's no fundamental diff between a small business and large business here except scale.

9dev 1y ago
That just is not true, though. A company externalises a lot of its cost on the rest of society; laying off older employees, for example, that likely won’t find another job until retirement, are a liability society has to take care of. The only thing separating Workers with insurance coverage via their employer from eternal financial ruin is their very job. When the auto companies fucked up in Detroit, they wreaked havoc on an entire town. The tech giants raised rent in the valley so much, it essentially became uninhabitable to anyone but software engineers. There are more examples. Businesses are just as much part of society as individuals, and they have to do their part of this relationship. IMHO this includes being considerate about layoffs, and taking care of your employees.
- chrisco255 1y ago
  A company generates value for society, or it ceases to exist over the long run. We have unemployment insurance for laid off workers and most people at megacorps also get severence when they get let go. Older employees can find the same jobs at different companies there are almost no jobs that are exclusive to any one company and even where that is the case you can still find related jobs. There is no excuse. Unemployment levels are near 4% right now, historically near all time lows. Silicon Valley is expensive because of nimby zoning laws. We do not have that problem in Austin as Texas is pro-growth and allows for dense, high rise buildings and apartments to be built at will. As a result, our rent has gone down significantly in the last several years despite population growth. Fix your regulations and the supply problems in housing will fix themselves.
- mlrtime 1y ago
  You're not calculating the cost to society by keeping zombie companies alive that aren't productive.
  - Timon3 1y ago
    Could you share your calculations showing that it's better for society to let the old, poor and downtrodden die in the streets?
    - mlrtime 1y ago
      No, because I'm not the one making the claims, you are. Also your attempt at emotional manipulation doesn't work, it's very transparent.

terminalshort 1y ago

A megacorp employer holds no more power over its employees than a small business.

lovich 1y ago
That is a myopic view not born out by reality. It’s as truthful a statement as saying the law treats all equally since both the rich and poor are banned from sleeping under bridges.
- terminalshort 1y ago
  And yet you completely failed to say what is wrong about it
  - Sparkle-san 1y ago
    Just look up any town that had a single large employer and what happened to those towns after that employer left. Small companies do not posses the same ability to impact an entire town of people and everyone who lives in it, even those that didn't work for the employer.
    - terminalshort 1y ago
      OK, I will grant you this one edge case. As for the other 99% of people, my point stands.
    - mlrtime 1y ago
      So the have power only when they cease to exist? That's an odd example to use.
      - Sparkle-san 1y ago
        They don't have to cease to exist. They can just choose to relocate or close that location because they're big enough to do that. Maybe extorting another town for tax breaks if they relocate there while they're at it.