CEO Alarmed to Discover That Laying Off 1,500 Workers Had Consequences (futurism.com)
from ylai@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 05:37
https://lemmy.ml/post/14904663

#technology

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autotldr@lemmings.world on 26 Apr 2024 05:40 next collapse

This is the best summary I could come up with:


In December, music streaming giant Spotify fired 1,500 workers, a cohort amounting to a staggering 17 percent of its total workforce at the time.

On an investor call this week following Spotify’s Q1 report, the streaming CEO admitted that while the layoffs were the “right strategic decision,” firing 1,500 employees “did disrupt our day-to-day operations more than we anticipated.”

“It took us some time to find our footing,” Ek continued, according to Fortune, “but more than four months into this transition, think we’re back on track.”

And sometimes, it’s true that companies do over-hire — a reality exemplified by the tech industry, which saw record layoffs last year after a decade of fairly steady workforce increases furthered by the industry’s pandemic hiring boom.

Because copyright exists, access to an endless music library isn’t cheap.

“On the surface,” Spotify’s business model “looks great,” Simon Dyson, senior principal analyst at the consultancy firm Omdia, told Wired last year following Ek’s layoff announcement.


The original article contains 403 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

tedu on 26 Apr 2024 06:28 next collapse

I like how the verb in the headline evolves every time I see this story. First he was surprised. Then he was shocked. Now he's alarmed. Maybe I'll check back tomorrow and learn he's horrified!

geophysicist@discuss.tchncs.de on 26 Apr 2024 06:35 next collapse

slammed

itsnicodegallo@lemm.ee on 26 Apr 2024 11:23 collapse

This just means “to insult”. Not exactly interchangeable with “overcome with a negative emotion”.

But yes, I fucking hate this kind of hyperbole in news headlines. The other one I see is blasts like somebody legit fired a Kamehameha wave at somebody else.

Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works on 26 Apr 2024 11:31 next collapse

CEO slammed with negative emotions after realizing layoffs have consequences

BertramDitore@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 14:36 collapse

This is one of the most absurd examples I’ve ever seen. This shit drives me crazy.

itsnicodegallo@lemm.ee on 26 Apr 2024 22:21 collapse

They knew what they were doing… They had to. Lol

coffinwood@discuss.tchncs.de on 26 Apr 2024 06:46 next collapse

Flabbergasted!

thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca on 26 Apr 2024 06:49 collapse

Flummoxed!

aeronmelon@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 08:33 collapse

Gobsmacked!

SecretSauces@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 11:00 collapse

Bewildered, even!

witty_username@feddit.nl on 26 Apr 2024 11:38 collapse

Gutted

noodlejetski@lemm.ee on 26 Apr 2024 06:29 next collapse

one can only dream!

realitista@lemm.ee on 26 Apr 2024 07:00 next collapse

Especially when these whole articles revolve around couple sentences in an earnings call which were basically “it had a bigger effect than we expected, but we’re doing okay now.” I’m sure as an excuse for lower than expected profits in that period.

NutWrench@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 15:41 next collapse

It’s just another example of news orgs running interference for a twenty-something dbag "entrepreneur"who has no idea how his business works.

bradorsomething@ttrpg.network on 26 Apr 2024 19:27 collapse

This guy needs to slam somebody.

unclejeeves@lemmy.world on 27 Apr 2024 01:54 collapse

Fuck I hate that word now

ChowJeeBai@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 06:31 next collapse

Not to his paycheck, it didn’t.

just_another_person@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 07:37 collapse

They only do this for end of year bonuses for shareholders and the C level folks. They don’t give a single shit about who it affects. People’s lives were ruined over this.

Axle182@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 08:31 next collapse

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/9406ab4a-b6f8-4941-a154-b83f11168151.jpeg">

aniki@lemm.ee on 26 Apr 2024 10:30 next collapse

ACAB.

Eat Billionaires.

Capitalism Sucks.

The three tenants of modern life.

palordrolap@kbin.social on 26 Apr 2024 10:44 collapse

Tenets*

But don't sack your tenants. They need a place to live.

tias@discuss.tchncs.de on 26 Apr 2024 10:54 next collapse

I think a fourth tenet may be that the people who have tenants are the scum of the earth.

aniki@lemm.ee on 26 Apr 2024 12:08 collapse

Burning landlords and the properties they use to kludge the poor is basically seizing the means of production.

macrocephalic@lemmy.world on 27 Apr 2024 03:21 collapse

Except David; he keeps leaving a big blue box in the lounge room.

Evotech@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 11:08 next collapse

It’s just insane to me that it even takes 1500 people to run Spotify to begin with

Sprokes@jlai.lu on 26 Apr 2024 11:25 next collapse

Why not? Some companies do have a fraction of Spotify users and have around 100 software engineers. Things do not run by themselves. Also they are in many countries so you need to keep up with legal changes…

ChairmanMeow@programming.dev on 26 Apr 2024 11:44 next collapse

Techwise it probably doesn’t, but then there’s marketeers, sales, accountants, legal, etc…

treadful@lemmy.zip on 26 Apr 2024 20:15 collapse

It’s the music industry. Probably 50% lawyers.

moon@lemmy.ml on 26 Apr 2024 16:36 next collapse

People think that because you can build a Spotify clone with two sticks and a heroku subscription it must not need a lot of people to work on. It’s what Elon said about Twitter prior to buying it and gutting all the features.

These apps are first and foremost businesses with legal, HR, and all sorts of other roles before you get to product. And the products are so mature, so complex, that you need dozens of teams to cover the entire thing

KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml on 26 Apr 2024 18:53 collapse

I can see the need for those engineers but more importantly, Spotify needs sales people.

moon@lemmy.ml on 26 Apr 2024 19:19 collapse

Spotify is also a record label now. They probably need an entire division devoted just to the marketing and strategy needed to make that successful

laxe@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 15:25 next collapse

Layoffs are a leadership failure so should always be accompanied by firing them too

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 26 Apr 2024 19:21 next collapse

i tought this was the onion for a second

WamGams@lemmy.ca on 26 Apr 2024 22:56 next collapse

God damn, capitalists can be so fucking stupid.

Sam_Bass@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 23:03 next collapse

Firing him would have a negligible effect. Bet.

UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world on 26 Apr 2024 23:59 next collapse

xmanager

werefreeatlast@lemmy.world on 27 Apr 2024 00:28 next collapse

Only 1499 next time please!

xenoclast@lemmy.world on 27 Apr 2024 00:37 collapse

He and the shareholders still made a ton of money. They will do it again so they can make a ton more money.

He doesn’t care and never will.