Twitter Layoff Started Today(linkedin.com)
linkedin.com
Twitter Layoff Started Today
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ingridjohnson_twitter-layoffs-started-today-there-are-activity-6950869057071980545-1Q4t
338 comments
“ many of these folks won’t be able to sell the shares they earned.
The money they need pay bills and keep them afloat if and until they get new employment.
When severance ends, that’s it.”
It’s Twitter’s responsibility to not only offer severance, but make sure employees keep an emergency fund?
The money they need pay bills and keep them afloat if and until they get new employment.
When severance ends, that’s it.”
It’s Twitter’s responsibility to not only offer severance, but make sure employees keep an emergency fund?
Almost no information here or anywhere else. Any other source? What roles? How many?
Edit: 30% of its recruiting team: https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-lays-off-third-of-talen...
Edit: 30% of its recruiting team: https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-lays-off-third-of-talen...
My understanding was that this sort of stock sale blackout is typically an internal thing to avoid insider trading liability, but if you've been laid off, you would no longer be internal and therefore no longer subject to the blackout. Is that not how it's structured here?
Could anyone explain to me in simple terms how it's possible to have a blackout on Vested stock?
I was under the impression that once I'm "vested" the stock is now mine and I own it like any normal stock.
Are "vested" shares something different? Could I say for example sell my shares on Robinhood if the blackout wasn't in effect or are they held by some third party?
I was under the impression that once I'm "vested" the stock is now mine and I own it like any normal stock.
Are "vested" shares something different? Could I say for example sell my shares on Robinhood if the blackout wasn't in effect or are they held by some third party?
Fwiw, as far as stock sales being blocked. You can probably easily bypass that if you prepare in advance.
There exists a standard stock transfer mechanism, ACATS, for basically "wiring" your stocks to a different brokerage. I think these transfers are also legally mandated to some extent.
My previous company partnered with ETrade, giving us a special account for stock awards. The main special thing about it were insane commission, order(s?) of magnitude higher than interactive brokers. I moved the stocks to IB using ACATS; it felt like ETrade tried to use stalling tactics like asking me to mail a paper form I think (I called bs), then iirc there was an error because the account was special so the transfer logic couldn't find it, etc. But after persisting I saved 100s of $$ and also the company had no control of the stock anymore (we had some earnings lock outs, not that it affected me).
The downside is that it might mess with automatic tax stuff, iirc dates-CBs got transferred but I had to redo something about these tx-es, maybe ISO stuff? Not sure if anything was missing for RSUs, I assume things like espp cost basis might get lost, we didn't have it.
Now I wonder if I should do the same for my current company stock... just in case.
There exists a standard stock transfer mechanism, ACATS, for basically "wiring" your stocks to a different brokerage. I think these transfers are also legally mandated to some extent.
My previous company partnered with ETrade, giving us a special account for stock awards. The main special thing about it were insane commission, order(s?) of magnitude higher than interactive brokers. I moved the stocks to IB using ACATS; it felt like ETrade tried to use stalling tactics like asking me to mail a paper form I think (I called bs), then iirc there was an error because the account was special so the transfer logic couldn't find it, etc. But after persisting I saved 100s of $$ and also the company had no control of the stock anymore (we had some earnings lock outs, not that it affected me).
The downside is that it might mess with automatic tax stuff, iirc dates-CBs got transferred but I had to redo something about these tx-es, maybe ISO stuff? Not sure if anything was missing for RSUs, I assume things like espp cost basis might get lost, we didn't have it.
Now I wonder if I should do the same for my current company stock... just in case.
From that OP thread, it seems that talent and not engineering was affected.
There's an urban legend (maybe true, maybe not) about National Semiconductor, and this comes from back in the good old days of "loyalty." It may not be true, but on the other hand, when I'd say "Nazi Semiconductor" to someone who had worked there, they always smiled and didn't argue with me.
The legend was, they had a fake fire drill. Then when everyone was out in the parking lot, they told certain people not to bother coming back in again.
Edit: Snopes has a "debunking" of this at [1]. I'm not persuaded that this debunks it, since the laws protecting employees were not in effect yet way back then.
[1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-fired-drill/
The legend was, they had a fake fire drill. Then when everyone was out in the parking lot, they told certain people not to bother coming back in again.
Edit: Snopes has a "debunking" of this at [1]. I'm not persuaded that this debunks it, since the laws protecting employees were not in effect yet way back then.
[1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-fired-drill/
I feel sympathetic but anyone that hasn't started prepping for layoffs is simply not reading the writing on the wall, _especially_ at Twitter. Elon Musk has basically said that he wants people working 40+ hours/week in the office or you can quit to Tesla and SpaceX. There have been stories for weeks about large startups having layoffs. Finally, most acquisitions tend to end in layoffs
Minimum, you should be updating your resume/LinkedIn, and you should also look at ways to cut back on costs where possible.
I'm sorry, Twitter assured the company that there would be no layoffs? Isn't that _exactly_ what Elon Musk has been telegraphing with what he's said to the press and at the town hall? Also at this point
Minimum, you should be updating your resume/LinkedIn, and you should also look at ways to cut back on costs where possible.
I'm sorry, Twitter assured the company that there would be no layoffs? Isn't that _exactly_ what Elon Musk has been telegraphing with what he's said to the press and at the town hall? Also at this point
IANAL but I don’t think the blackout window applies if you’re no longer an employee.
Most if not all of those employees had to go through interview hell in order to work there. It says a lot that employers are always hesitant to hire but when they fire it is because they have run out of time.
That's crazy!
I'm not that old, but even I remember a time when companies, at least in principle, would invest in their employees (via stable employment, regular raises, mutual trust) in return for employees investing in the companies (innovation, extra effort, dedication, championing the company brand). Today, we have this:
- Companies using the barest of excuses, or none at all, to lay off employees. Because it makes good business sense.
- Companies lying, deliberately and freely, to employees about upcoming layoffs, in order to "stave off panic". Because it makes good business sense.
- Companies laying employees off in the most impersonal fashions possible (large Zoom meetings, automated email, SMS). Because business sense, etc.
- Companies literally escorting laid-off employees out of the building like criminals, on the premise that a suddenly-former employee is an incipient criminal.
- Companies stiffing people on severance, based on a cost-benefit analysis which concludes that the potential legal bills will cost less than a fair and reasonable severance. Because, again, it makes good business sense.
In spite of the downsides of unions, this turn of affairs is really an argument in favor of universal unionization.