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In the wake of Microsoftsrecent layoff announcements, the sobering context has been added to the decision.
Its just not just Microsoft.
Sting performs for a small crowd at Davos pay for by Microsoft.
None of that is supposed to make anyone losing their job feel better.
People are scared, and life feels uncertain.
Those higher up will have an easier time with it, while entry-level people will have it worse.
Sting performs for a small crowd at Davos pay for by Microsoft.
But the fact is Microsoft didnt lay off people because it couldnt afford them.
Microsoft, like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, is swimming in cash.
Instead, its about shifting direction.
… if we’re really being honest here.
For instance, recent reporting says Microsoft iscutting back on augmented reality(AR) and HoloLens.
A good chunk is becausethe US Army project is falling through on the funding.
What would be a long and financially lucrative contract was turning into a shorter one with no guaranteed funding.
(And the prospect of consumer AR still seems like a pipe dream).
These layoffs arent about being able to afford to keep people.
Instead, its about shifting direction.
Other areas like gaming, specifically 343i, have also been hit hard.
But how did the last Halo game do?
Like it or not, something is wrong with the games direction.
Unfortunately, your rank-and-file developers get caught up inbad managerial behaviorand lose their jobs.
In other words, many of these layoffs are due to Microsoft pivoting as a company.
They look at what works and fund that while looking at what doesnt and downsizing.
Paying people to stick around even though that team is not making money is not how companies should run.
Oh, but the Sting concert!
Another faux outrage movement is with Sting performing at the World Economic Forum in Davos for about 50 people.
That contract was likely signed many months before layoffs were on the table.
An event like the World Economic Forum isnt planned and whipped together in a few weeks.
And what would have canceling the show done anyway?
It wouldnt have saved any jobs.
I guess some people wouldfeelbetter even though 10,000 positions are still going away.
None of this is to say that Microsofts actions are without criticism.
But Microsoft is a business.
It cant just stop doing normal PR relations and events because it has to do layoffs.
So connecting the two incidents are people who want to feel morally superior without offering tangible alternatives or answers.
None of this is to say that Microsofts actionsare without criticism.
On the one hand, you must appreciate how seniority doesnt matter.
You have been there six months or 10 years everyone is the same.
Alternatively, I find it disturbing that a company like Microsoft doesnt value dedication and loyalty.
But lets not confuse a shifting business strategy with being a charity.
As the old expression goes, play the man, not the puck.
If youre concerned about fairness and hate these mass layoffs, lets have that conversation.
Lets discussCEO pay limitations, worker empowerment,Parecon(participatory economics), and different managerial structures.
Let’s get real and debate the fundamentals of the big “C” word, Capitalism.
But most of you dont.
So instead, its easier to snark about a Sting concert without addressing the root cause.Lets do better.
