Re:Can Ford Turn Itself into a Tech Company?
by mywittyname on Thursday November 09, 2017 @05:32PM
(#15666344)
There's a difference between paying people what they are worth, and paying people what they could earn elsewhere.
GM paid $500-1,000MM dollars for Cruise Automation, an autonomous vehicle startup with 40 employees. That means that GM thinks that three years of work by these employees are worth in the neighborhood of $12.5 to $25MM each.
Meaning a $200k salary is a serious low-ball. The fact that a web-dev in California can earn that, doesn't mean that's a good benchmark for a world-class AI researcher.
So yes, there is a good reason to pay these people well. The company knows that, if they don't, they face an existential threat. These potential employees are better off creating their own startup and auctioning off the results in three years.
Re:Can Ford Turn Itself into a Tech Company?
by Aloha on Thursday November 09, 2017 @10:00PM
(#15667604)
A world class AI researcher is going to make the same money wherever they go - but "senior level developers" wouldn't, they'll make market adjusted wages.
GM paid $500-1,000MM dollars for Cruise Automation, an autonomous vehicle startup with 40 employees. That means that GM thinks that three years of work by these employees are worth in the neighborhood of $12.5 to $25MM each.
Meaning a $200k salary is a serious low-ball. The fact that a web-dev in California can earn that, doesn't mean that's a good benchmark for a world-class AI researcher.
So yes, there is a good reason to pay these people well. The company knows that, if they don't, they face an existential threat. These potential employees are better off creating their own startup and auctioning off the results in three years.