Ask HN: Does employment feel safer at smaller companies?

[scripper]

There have been many very large layoffs announced recently at large companies. Much of the HN comments on these note over-hiring during better economic times. I’m wondering, have smaller employers, who presumably haven’t added headcount as much as larger employers, been laying of as well? Does employment feel more secure there?

[houseatrielah]

Small companies get acquired when money is cheap; the acquirer generally doesn't want the programmers just the income stream so they keep a skeleton crew around until they can hand it off to their in-house team.

[dave4420]

I used to work for a non tech company of around three or four hundred people that nonetheless had about twenty software engineers. I say “used to” because engineering got cut by 80% last quarter.

[scripper]

Were the engineering cuts were due to pullback in the primary business?

[dave4420]

The established part of the business had an appalling half year and couldn’t continue to fund the not-yet-profitable digital part of the business.

If you work for a startup you know there’s always a possibility that the money will run out, but at least you know your runway.

What does “pullback” mean?

[scripper]

Thanks. I meant “a pullback,” as in a euphemism for underperformance. The question was whether the engineers were incidental casualties.

[pestatije]

no, what happens with small companies is they go bust without notice, or their showing signs theyll go bust, or the owners signal it might go bust for whatever reason...so no, it never feels safe working in a small company

[scripper]

Thanks. I just wonder what the answer is, security-wise. I guess if you can find something self-sustaining where there isn’t a huge need to grow. That was behind my original question, a feeling that a need for profit growth drives these decisions for larger (public, or on their way there) companies. But I guess if a smaller company is not yet profitable, it’s also bearing some risk to get somewhere that it might not.