Struggling product, no consistent strategy, multi-annual layoffs
Pros
- Talented ICs (most of whom were laid off), especially in software - Brand hasn't been tarnished completely, so working here looks decent on your resume
Cons
- Leadership constantly congratulates themselves on using "empathy" as a watchword but lays off 10% of the company every year. - Layoffs are done by an uninterested exec announcing a "re-org" in a surprise all-hands meeting, then telling people to wait 30 minutes to receive a Google Calendar invite that clarifies their job status. When asked directly about how inhumane this approach is, execs are unresponsive. - Within 2 hours after the layoffs, there will be a followup all-hands for surviving employees where execs talk about moving on with "a clean slate" and a "lean strategy." Feels weirdly dystopian, especially when in the same meeting, those execs congratulate themselves on "being as empathetic as possible." - Layoffs happened 5 times during my 4 years there. - The product hasn't been iterated in two years and is floundering relative to the competition. The product team is directionless and switches broad goals every two quarters, preventing what was once a decent product from remaining competitive. - Equity has flatlined in value, but leadership is out of touch with the product and team operations, preventing them from being able to commit to a strategy besides "lay people off." - DEI efforts are nonexistent. The company will hire a DEI manager every March, only to fire them by the following February. Not much diversity in leadership or management roles. - Recent positive reviews are clearly written by the head of People Management since they have repeated phrases that were used constantly at the company.