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Comment by coredog64 | Hacker News Reader

I don’t think the math checks out: Salary isn’t the only expense, so you might be looking at a 15% wage cut to keep 10% of the workforce. With stock performance, I’ve already taken a 10% wage cut. Cut another 15% in cash and I’m gonna be super unhappy about my comp.

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> With stock performance, I’ve already taken a 10% wage cut

This is such a weird attitude to me. If it goes up you expect the gains, if it goes down the company is letting you down.

Stock is supposed to involve some risk. It's not cash, and you will only be disappointed if you build your lifestyle around it being a certain price.

Its not a weird attitude if there is an implicit agreement between the employer and employees.

BigTech specifically has lured people with the promise of stock appreciation on top of already great base. When stock prices collapsed last year many companies offered “top ups”. The implicit agreement was that stocks only had upside.

They didn’t say the company was letting them down, or that it was unfair. They said they weren’t happy about it. You can understand that risk sometimes doesn’t go your way and still have human emotions about it, as well as make different choices in reaction.

Hence management taking a bigger cut.

Some solutions to this include furlough rather that straight cuts. Those do reduce some infrastructure costs. I can’t reduce service staff and contract work at all if everyone is working 40 hours a week still. We use the same toilet paper, water, electricity, other consumables and depreciating equipment. A saw blade cuts X feet of metal. But I can trim if everyone is working 37 hours.

>"Cut another 15% in cash and I’m gonna be super unhappy about my comp."

In case of Google they already "overpaid" by more than that percentage wise. Sundar can just say take your unhappiness and shove it up the place. What you gonna do? Quit when every other FAANG is laying off in hope to find something better? I do not think Sundar would give a flying fuck about this kind of unhappiness.

This. Also the bigger the company is, the less the long term loyalty and people are generally there for the money.

So top performers will get moving quickly.

Betting you’re not one of those with a target on your forehead, eh? Cutting salaries and keeping staff is better for the company going forward. Those driven by comp aren’t those that’ll stay long term. Raises come from switches.

Plus inflation on top.

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