What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes?

Re:What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes? by aksjdhmkjasdof on Tuesday August 02, 2022 @12:30PM (#32320836)

>An actual hiring freeze sends a very strong negative signal to employees and investors. To employees it says "the ship is sinking." Layoffs are right around the corner and that is absolute poison to morale.

I don't agree with this analysis. I'd be shocked if Google did any layoffs (though it's always possible) instead of just freezing hiring and letting natural attrition happen for a while. As for the signal to employees, there are so many employees already that I imagine many would be agree that the company is too big. It doesn't mean that the ship is sinking, just that they don't need an infinite number of employees. And Google's products are so dominant that you can't really believe the business is failing.

Now, FB on the other hand... I'd feel a lot more antsy, yeah. Their business doesn't feel nearly so stable.

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Re:What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes? by baby on Tuesday August 02, 2022 @01:30PM (#32321750)

FB is still printing money so I'm not sure how it's not a stable business

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Re:What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes? by aksjdhmkjasdof on Tuesday August 02, 2022 @07:53PM (#32325867)

It's certainly stable for now but it doesn't feel as stable as Google's, at least to me. The main FB product is in a slow decline and IG, though doing well, is under constant threat from the latest social media app du jour. The whole VR push could work out but right now it feels like a long shot and if I were working there I wouldn't be happy betting the farm on it. I mean the very fact that they are anticipating such a drastic pivot to their core business in the future should surely be a cause for some concern.

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Re:What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes? by pharmakom on Tuesday August 02, 2022 @01:57PM (#32322130)

zuck will burn cash to the end for the meta verse it seems.

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Re:What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes? by Applejinx on Tuesday August 02, 2022 @02:05PM (#32322222)

That's one of the things, though. If you are in a dire situation, like companies nationalized during wartime, you can't work or function. Certain things like advertising your services are clearly out the window.

In WWII, some companies who were turned to serving the war machine continued to advertise the things they couldn't make or sell, anyway. When things came back those folks were on top of the world. If the big FAANG companies can ride out business cycles without acting like they've become vulnerable, they're likely to further cement their positions.

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Re:What’s going on with Google and Facebook hiring freezes? by baby on Tuesday August 02, 2022 @05:40PM (#32324621)

It definitely is a long term bet that could end up costing a lot to Meta, but on the other hand if that bet materializes... At the very least we're getting really cool VR development!

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