New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: No raises/promotions until next year. Is this a red flag?
Ask HN: No raises/promotions until next year. Is this a red flag?
5 by throwaway56623 | 5 comments on Hacker News.
I’m a developer at a public software company. For the past 12 months, leadership has been pushing exceptionally hard to become profitable. To accomplish this, they've been reducing unnecessary expenses as much as possible (travel, events, etc). Last promotion cycle (January 2023), most developers did not receive a raise. Their explanation? To reduce spending as much as possible. Our latest earnings report shows that we are indeed profitable now. Our stock price has shot up, and is almost at a record high. That's great. Nevertheless, leadership just announced that our Summer promotion cycle will be canceled, and all raises/promotions will be postponed until next year. Their explanation? Same as before: reduce spending for profitability's sake. On one hand, I appreciate that we’re profitable. A lot of companies aren’t profitable and never will be. I also understand that we’re a public company, and that stock price matters most. On the other hand, it seems a bit shortsighted. Imagine that I wanted to cut back on my own spending. Should I starve myself? That’ll save money, for sure. But is it sustainable? Similarly, is minimizing employee compensation and career growth a sustainable way to become profitable? I forgot to mention that they’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to take the product organization (200-300 people) on an epic retreat this summer. Awesome, and much appreciated. But it doesn't quite jive with the stuff above. What am I missing here? How should I interpret this situation?
5 by throwaway56623 | 5 comments on Hacker News.
I’m a developer at a public software company. For the past 12 months, leadership has been pushing exceptionally hard to become profitable. To accomplish this, they've been reducing unnecessary expenses as much as possible (travel, events, etc). Last promotion cycle (January 2023), most developers did not receive a raise. Their explanation? To reduce spending as much as possible. Our latest earnings report shows that we are indeed profitable now. Our stock price has shot up, and is almost at a record high. That's great. Nevertheless, leadership just announced that our Summer promotion cycle will be canceled, and all raises/promotions will be postponed until next year. Their explanation? Same as before: reduce spending for profitability's sake. On one hand, I appreciate that we’re profitable. A lot of companies aren’t profitable and never will be. I also understand that we’re a public company, and that stock price matters most. On the other hand, it seems a bit shortsighted. Imagine that I wanted to cut back on my own spending. Should I starve myself? That’ll save money, for sure. But is it sustainable? Similarly, is minimizing employee compensation and career growth a sustainable way to become profitable? I forgot to mention that they’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to take the product organization (200-300 people) on an epic retreat this summer. Awesome, and much appreciated. But it doesn't quite jive with the stuff above. What am I missing here? How should I interpret this situation?
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