4 ms·

If you’re a top performer you bail as soon as there are layoffs anyways. I certainly do. It’s rarely a sign that anything good is in your future, they’re often

If you’re a top performer you bail as soon as there are layoffs anyways. I certainly do. It’s rarely a sign that anything good is in your future, they’re often performed poorly, and the work environment post-layoffs is incredibly bleak and disheartening. If you have options there’s no good reason to stay.

in_cahoots 4y ago
Where would you go in this environment? Most of the top-name companies have had layoffs themselves, or at the very least are at the hiring freeze stage of the layoff routine.
- escapecharacter 4y ago
  In my case, I did the math on my savings and I’m taking 1-3 years working on side projects, by myself and with groups of collaborators
  - seb1204 4y ago
    Wow, good on you. I wish you all the best. I wish I had such financial safety net to change jobs
  - Yoric 4y ago
    I have that kind of cushion and I am considering taking a few months off working on side projects. But 1-3 years? I would need a very, very, very solid project to consider doing that!
- roncesvalles 4y ago
  The "we're in a hiring freeze" press releases all have fairly broad asterisks. New people are being onboarded daily in all of the companies that announced layoffs.
  - in_cahoots 4y ago
    That’s true, but those same companies still wound up doing layoffs later on. So if your criteria is not to work at a company without layoffs then you’re still SOL.
    - roncesvalles 4y ago
      I'd rather join a company post-layoff than pre-layoff.
      - luckylion 4y ago
        Say you're at company A. Company A and B do layoffs of similar size. Why is switching to company B after the layoffs your preferred action?
      - janalsncm 4y ago
        Of course. But in a recession there can be multiple rounds of layoffs.
- msbarnett 4y ago
  There’s tons of very profitable companies hiring right now - the “top-name” companies doing layoffs were all “growth-first, profit-never” types. We’re not in an industry-wide downturn and there’s a hell of a lot more out there than FAANG or MANGA or whatever we’re calling it now.
  - type-r 4y ago
    > the “top-name” companies doing layoffs were all “growth-first, profit-never” types What companies specifically are you referring to? In the last few months we've seen layoffs from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. These rank among the most profitable tech companies in the world. https://companiesmarketcap.com/tech/most-profitable-tech-companies/ https://companiesmarketcap.com/tech/most-profitable-tech-com...
  - UncleMeat 4y ago
    Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon have made an absolute shitload of money. They are among the most profitable companies in the history of humanity. Definitely not "profit-never."
- as-j 4y ago
  You’ll laugh but bear with me, Meta recruiter just reached out to me this week, so even parts of Facebook are hiring, and my relevant skill set. Of course I don’t care about VR goggles, but you just had large layoffs, why would I work for you? (Plus ok Zuck is ruining your core business, but that aside) Layoffs hurt inside and outside too.
  - seanmcdirmid 4y ago
    If meta is hiring for VR, they are probably taking advantage of the recent Microsoft layoff anyways to pick up talent.
    - metadat 4y ago
      Do you mean the Microsoft VR layoffs literally announced only 1 or 2 days ago? That's giving BigCo a lot of credit in the agility department, skirting over the edge into conspiracy theory territory.
      - seanmcdirmid 4y ago
        If they were still hiring for VR, why would the recruiters wait? It’s not like they are very busy.
    - as-j 4y ago
      This role's been open for a while, probably just recruiting getting re-organized after being cut to the bone.
  - kamaal 4y ago
    Hire to fire is fairly common. If a layoff is inevitable, It is common in many set ups for managers to hire people new people whom they would want to let go instead of their top dogs who've been rocking their projects for years.
    - as-j 4y ago
      Nah, this role has been open to long, survived recruiting cuts, and it appears even layoffs. I wonder if FB will get so desperate they even stop trying to downlevel.
naveen99 4y ago
Not if you are at a top company. Also it’s not like any company gets to cut 10% from what it offers new hires… it’s hard enough recruiting at market rates, will be harder 10% below market rates.
idopmstuff 4y ago
Reading a bunch of responses, I feel like I should qualify my initial comment slightly - I really meant it as being specific to these circumstances, in which the largest/most successful companies are doing layoffs. I generally work at early-stage startups, and I 100% agree with you - at those, if layoffs start, barring some extraordinary circumstances, it's time to get the hell out because your options are about to be worth bupkis. When it's FAANG, etc. I don't think that's true. Amazon and Microsoft can lay off swathes of people and still have plausible outcomes in which their stock prices are higher in a year or two (perhaps even more plausible than they were pre-layoff).
I_AM_A_SMURF 4y ago
bail off to... where? Every single big tech has done layoff except Apple. Which fair you could go to Apple but then you have to deal with Cupertino and inflated bay area housing.

in_cahoots 4y ago

Where would you go in this environment? Most of the top-name companies have had layoffs themselves, or at the very least are at the hiring freeze stage of the layoff routine.

escapecharacter 4y ago
In my case, I did the math on my savings and I’m taking 1-3 years working on side projects, by myself and with groups of collaborators
- seb1204 4y ago
  Wow, good on you. I wish you all the best. I wish I had such financial safety net to change jobs
- Yoric 4y ago
  I have that kind of cushion and I am considering taking a few months off working on side projects. But 1-3 years? I would need a very, very, very solid project to consider doing that!
roncesvalles 4y ago
The "we're in a hiring freeze" press releases all have fairly broad asterisks. New people are being onboarded daily in all of the companies that announced layoffs.
- in_cahoots 4y ago
  That’s true, but those same companies still wound up doing layoffs later on. So if your criteria is not to work at a company without layoffs then you’re still SOL.
  - roncesvalles 4y ago
    I'd rather join a company post-layoff than pre-layoff.
    - luckylion 4y ago
      Say you're at company A. Company A and B do layoffs of similar size. Why is switching to company B after the layoffs your preferred action?
    - janalsncm 4y ago
      Of course. But in a recession there can be multiple rounds of layoffs.
msbarnett 4y ago
There’s tons of very profitable companies hiring right now - the “top-name” companies doing layoffs were all “growth-first, profit-never” types. We’re not in an industry-wide downturn and there’s a hell of a lot more out there than FAANG or MANGA or whatever we’re calling it now.
- type-r 4y ago
  > the “top-name” companies doing layoffs were all “growth-first, profit-never” types What companies specifically are you referring to? In the last few months we've seen layoffs from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. These rank among the most profitable tech companies in the world. https://companiesmarketcap.com/tech/most-profitable-tech-companies/ https://companiesmarketcap.com/tech/most-profitable-tech-com...
- UncleMeat 4y ago
  Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon have made an absolute shitload of money. They are among the most profitable companies in the history of humanity. Definitely not "profit-never."
as-j 4y ago
You’ll laugh but bear with me, Meta recruiter just reached out to me this week, so even parts of Facebook are hiring, and my relevant skill set. Of course I don’t care about VR goggles, but you just had large layoffs, why would I work for you? (Plus ok Zuck is ruining your core business, but that aside) Layoffs hurt inside and outside too.
- seanmcdirmid 4y ago
  If meta is hiring for VR, they are probably taking advantage of the recent Microsoft layoff anyways to pick up talent.
  - metadat 4y ago
    Do you mean the Microsoft VR layoffs literally announced only 1 or 2 days ago? That's giving BigCo a lot of credit in the agility department, skirting over the edge into conspiracy theory territory.
    - seanmcdirmid 4y ago
      If they were still hiring for VR, why would the recruiters wait? It’s not like they are very busy.
  - as-j 4y ago
    This role's been open for a while, probably just recruiting getting re-organized after being cut to the bone.
- kamaal 4y ago
  Hire to fire is fairly common. If a layoff is inevitable, It is common in many set ups for managers to hire people new people whom they would want to let go instead of their top dogs who've been rocking their projects for years.
  - as-j 4y ago
    Nah, this role has been open to long, survived recruiting cuts, and it appears even layoffs. I wonder if FB will get so desperate they even stop trying to downlevel.

naveen99 4y ago

Not if you are at a top company. Also it’s not like any company gets to cut 10% from what it offers new hires… it’s hard enough recruiting at market rates, will be harder 10% below market rates.

idopmstuff 4y ago

Reading a bunch of responses, I feel like I should qualify my initial comment slightly - I really meant it as being specific to these circumstances, in which the largest/most successful companies are doing layoffs. I generally work at early-stage startups, and I 100% agree with you - at those, if layoffs start, barring some extraordinary circumstances, it's time to get the hell out because your options are about to be worth bupkis. When it's FAANG, etc. I don't think that's true. Amazon and Microsoft can lay off swathes of people and still have plausible outcomes in which their stock prices are higher in a year or two (perhaps even more plausible than they were pre-layoff).

I_AM_A_SMURF 4y ago

bail off to... where? Every single big tech has done layoff except Apple. Which fair you could go to Apple but then you have to deal with Cupertino and inflated bay area housing.