Not saying it isn't possible, but layoffs would not be the bellwether for that. Companies lay people off all the time, even when they aren't hurting if they think they can pad their bottom line.
I guess we can at least agree, that even if a company doing lay offs isn't necessarily going belly up, a company that is going belly up is probably doing some lay offs along the way.
However going beyond the point we agree over... what if a lay off sets in motion a series of chain reactions:
reduced investor/shareholder confidence -> possibly stock/company-value tanking -> -> leading to issues with the lowered valuation and their debt, worse credit rating(?)
destroyed worker moral -> the best workers are more likely to leave, workers who remain having to shoulder their burden
less team members have to shoulder much more work (usually for the same pay)
I am sure there are other factors and maybe some of those three above are not a factor at all..
Any layoff sucks and this is increasingly one of the worst possible times to be underemployed in tech.
But as far as layoffs go? This seems pretty "good". 60 day notice to search for new positions (internally or externally) while still employed by Google. Even if Google wants to fuck them over, any manager of basic competence knows to not put critical path work on the person who has already been fired. I don't know Google severance package details but I assume they are good?
And... one of the reasons why this is a horrible time to be underemployed is that (whatever we currently call the) FAANG employees are pretty much set for life. If you have a FAANG-like on your CV you go to the head of almost every hiring pile. So if you are even moderately competent and likable, you have good odds of getting a new high paying job. And... Google is the G in that outdated acronym.
I don't know how they ever left Microsoft out of that, but I think they're going with MAMAA now (no Netflix, add Microsoft, swap for Meta and Alphabet)
Microsoft was left out because when it was first coined, Microsoft seemed to be heading down the IBM path of giving up on innovative technology and just becoming a beige box company for enterprise. They've since turned that around substantially, but the acronym has stuck.
"eliminate" is a word added by TechCrunch, not by Google/Youtube.
Google's actual phrasing was:
To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities. Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.
I guess "eliminations" is still related to eliminate. But I'd argue that TechCrunch is playing it up a bit by using more rage-inducing language.
“As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead,” a Google spokesperson said in a provided statement. “To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities. Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.”
The opportunities are a slightly increased rate of profit growth. Also I’m pretty sure this spokesperson has no soul. That or Google crushed it into submission.
“As we’ve said, we’re responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead,” a Google spokesperson said in a provided statement.
“To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources to their biggest product priorities.
Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally.”
Initially reported by Tubefilter, Youtube’s chief business officer, Mary Ellen Coe, wrote in an internal memo sent to staff on Wednesday afternoon that the job cuts were part of restructuring changes to its creator management and operations teams.
According to The New York Times, workers have 60 days to find new roles before their dismissals are officially in effect.
We’re only three weeks into the new year and already have seen dozens of companies across the tech industry face job reductions, including Discord, Twitch, Prime Video and MGM Studios, as well as Audible, Duolingo, Instagram, Pixar and Unity, among others.
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