[qeternity]

I don't really get why layoffs mean that the company was not managed correctly.

Let's say you believe you have an opportunity that will double the value of the company, with a 30% probability, or cost the company 10% of it's value. This means it has an expected value of +21%. This is pretty good, and exactly the sort of thing shareholders want from their management. So you increase headcount and pursue the opportunity.

In the 70% scenario when that doesn't work, you have to downsize. Failure is not just possible, it's probable. That doesn't mean that the CEO mismanaged...they may have, I don't know the Dropbox details. But in the scenario where they haven't mismanaged, what do you want? Do you want companies to never take these risks in the first place?

[cma256]

> I don't really get why layoffs mean that the company was not managed correctly.

Probably the part where they very directly attributed the layoff to mismanagement.

> We’ve heard from many of you that our organizational structure has become overly complex, with excess layers of management slowing us down.

> [We're] designing a flatter, more efficient team structure overall.

[Draiken]

When they hire as part of the push for that 30% chance, are they telling them that they have a 70% chance of being laid-off if the bet doesn't pay out?

If it's "just a bet" and not mismanagement, then we should tell people that, shouldn't we?

The reality is that these bets are only bets for the people getting hired/laid off, and they don't even know they are betting in the first place. Even worse because we're not talking about simply losing money here. Losing a job is many times a life changing event in real people's lives. It's not like someone betting on a stock.

That's why there should be consequences for the ones making those decisions. They get the most rewards, but none of the punishment. How's that fair in any shape or form?

[qeternity]

I don't know the answer to this, but I don't think it really matters.

Employees have responsibility to due diligence their employers.

But at the end of the day, employment is at will. It's a risk we all take.