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Comment by ilove_banh_mi | Hacker News Reader

I'm glad employees can be fired at will, in this country, and I'm glad he takes that part of SpaceX so seriously.

On the other hand, hiring managers from Microsoft and Google does not seem to be a good match for the type and pace of innovation Musk wants. Based on my work experience with ex-managers from those companies (not meant to exclude management from other elephantine companies).

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Sure, it's a good thing that the option exists that employees can be fired at will. but, that doesn't mean that firing is a good thing. If someone is fired or laid off, it means the company has failed in some way. Either they hired the wrong person, or had unrealistic expectations or in some way mismanaged their resources (hiring too many people for a project, etc). Not something that should be proudly celebrated.

People make mistakes in all avenues of life, including hiring. It's important to be able to make amends, or change paths, without being blocked by (inimical) others or by (excessive) regulation. In some parts of the world, firing is near impossible.

Not OP, but I'd agree fully as long as we're talking about management (well-compensated staff). Musk has been operating under the motto the end justifies the means and he’s getting a ton of flack for this from the left. Personally, I am slightly more ambivalent, after all both Tesla and SpaceX are not renown for their good work-life balance, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone who wants to work there. (Just to be clear, I do sympathise with the low-paid staff in the Tesla factories, and think they should be given better working conditions; some of the stories coming out of there are appalling).

They were fired because Musk himself is an incompetent manager. He hired and managed these managers so the failure of not being able to get the Org running is on him.

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