[HN Gopher] Snap plans to lay off 20 percent of employees
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       Snap plans to lay off 20 percent of employees
        
       Author : tempsy
       Score  : 50 points
       Date   : 2022-08-30 19:47 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.theverge.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.theverge.com)
        
       | bruceb wrote:
       | Layoff is no surprise, 20% is a chunk though, 1280 people. I
       | admire their trying to make new hardware but its new drone, Pixy,
       | was very underwhelming. Could have sub contracted that out or
       | cobranded with existing maker and got a better, cheaper device.
        
         | AdamJacobMuller wrote:
         | > its new drone, Pixy, was very underwhelming
         | 
         | It's an unfortunately missed opportunity.
         | 
         | I am completely outside their normal user base, I've literally
         | never had a snapchat account and don't use any social media.
         | 
         | However, when I heard about the concept it was something I
         | immediately wanted, I have for some time wanted a drone which
         | could be used for very adhoc simple selfie/group pics while
         | traveling, something with basically the exact features snap was
         | talking about when they announced it, unfortunately, as we all
         | know, the actual implementation fell far short. Huge miss for
         | them I think, the market for that could have been huge if
         | executed properly.
        
           | paxys wrote:
           | The opportunity has always been there. The company, like many
           | before them, simply ran into the limits of physics.
        
         | paxys wrote:
         | Worth noting that Snap more than doubled its payroll since 2020
         | and is now at 6400+ employees. All the tech layoffs happening
         | these days are a minor correction to the rampant overhiring
         | which took place industry-wide since the start of the pandemic,
         | very similar to stock market trends.
        
       | adam_arthur wrote:
       | People see these headlines and think that the job market is
       | loosening. But growth tech is such a small percentage of overall
       | employment, it effectively doesn't matter.
       | 
       | Only if big tech does layoffs is it meaningful for national
       | employment numbers. Fed will have to go much harder to fix the
       | broken job market
        
         | incahoots wrote:
         | SNAP's market is dwindling, they have not been posting good
         | quarterly reports, so this should come as no surprise to anyone
         | why they're slashing this many jobs.
         | 
         | All part of the business of being publicly owned. If you can't
         | sustain the growth then you better start trimming the fat.
        
           | nytesky wrote:
           | Has SNAP ever been profitable? It looks like it made $MM this
           | year? https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/03/snap-finally-did-it-
           | yall/
           | 
           | I think it raised $5B in various funding rounds?
           | 
           | It's been around a decade, and if its cutting 20% I can't
           | imaging the future is bright?
        
         | lupire wrote:
         | > Fed will have to go much harder to fix the broken job market
         | 
         | Fed _wants_ to break the job market, to reduce wage inflation.
        
           | adam_arthur wrote:
           | Yes, and they will. Despite the wishful thinking to the
           | contrary. It could have been prevented with more responsible
           | monetary policy in 2021
        
             | JumpCrisscross wrote:
             | This thread is people talking past each other on varying
             | definitions of "breaking."
        
       | newaccount2021 wrote:
       | instead of "learn to code", laid off workers will soon be told
       | "learn to make wind turbines"
       | 
       | the IT revolution is over for now
        
         | WFHRenaissance wrote:
         | Doubtful. Most of these employees will have new gigs doing
         | similar work within 1-2 months.
        
           | aaaaaaaaata wrote:
           | Recent experience or case study to link?
        
             | WFHRenaissance wrote:
             | Recent experience with from COVID-related layoffs. No one I
             | know spent more than 2 months on the market.
             | 
             | But also, stop being a know-it-all empiricism addict. just
             | use your head. Snap is a company with a high-hiring bar and
             | plenty of competition that's still hiring. Of course
             | they'll be scooped up by competition, even if only to
             | prevent them from going to competitors.
             | 
             | This comment screams Reddit-brain
        
             | incahoots wrote:
             | Source: Trust me bro
        
           | Ancapistani wrote:
           | If that long.
           | 
           | I'm literally going through my network on LinkedIn right now,
           | making a list of people I know who currently work at Snap to
           | send to my company's recruiters.
        
           | paxys wrote:
           | Engineers - yes. Other job functions don't always have such
           | an easy time.
        
             | WFHRenaissance wrote:
             | I generally agree, but I think Snap probably hires good
             | people. I bet they all do fine within 1-2 months.
        
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       (page generated 2022-08-30 23:01 UTC)