Insider Finance - Business - Insider Today: Startup workers on edge

October 25, 2023, 2023 • 5 min read

with Dan DeFrancesco

Halfway to the weekend! Don't sweat it if you’re fed up trying to find the one. Users of the dating app Tinder can now let friends and family recommend potential matches, meaning you can blame them for your bad dates. 

In today’s big story, we’re looking at why startups that have navigated multiple rounds of layoffs have left their workers feeling defeated.

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Samantha Lee/Insider

The big story

Lamenting layoffs

“Am I next to go?”

It’s a question more and more startup employees are contemplating amid a historic downturn in the industry coupled with a pullback in VC funding.

Concerns over job security have always lingered in the high-risk world of startups. But as Insider’s Samantha Stokes and Madeline Renbarger detail, employees are on edge nowadays because of the threat of multiple layoffs in a short time. 

Instead of feeling relieved after surviving a round of job cuts, employees wonder when the next headcount reduction will occur. The process has left employees feeling demoralized and stressed, with some telling Samantha and Madeline they’ve lost confidence and faith in leadership.

It’s worth noting that startups have always had a risk-reward aspect, even if it didn’t feel that way for a long time.

For every successful startup, countless ones have failed. But seemingly endless venture funding and eye-popping valuations over the past decade, especially in the wake of the pandemic, made it easy to dismiss the risks. 

Why work for a corporate entity and be a cog in the wheel when you can get hands-on experience at a startup? (And make a ton of money along the way.)

iStock; Rebecca Zisser/Insider

But just because layoffs are a necessary evil of the startup industry, that doesn’t mean employees’ concerns aren’t warranted. 

Samantha told me one issue raised by sources was the uncertainty around how different layoffs were conducted. Severance packages sometimes varied between rounds of layoffs, causing further confusion and fear. 

Another issue was the need for more transparency. Founders’ positive outlooks in the midst of multiple layoffs were offputting to employees who just wanted to be treated like adults, Samantha told me. 

I understand the importance of a leader putting on a brave face for the troops and avoiding information overload, but keeping workers in the complete dark comes with its own risks. 

Startup employees often go on to start their own companies, so it’ll be interesting to see how these experiences shape the next generation of companies. 

Future founders could take a more transparent approach to management. Or it could just mean startups conduct deeper cuts initially to avoid more layoffs in the short term.

3 things in

Markets

🔔 Before the opening bell: US stock futures fall early Wednesday as investors mull earnings reports from Microsoft and Alphabet

AP Photo

1. Jamie Dimon points the finger at central banks. The JPMorgan CEO said at a conference that central bankers were “100% dead wrong” with their forecasts 18 months ago. Going forward, he recommended preparing for “possibilities and probabilities” versus “calling one course of action.”

2. The big money in building EV charging stations. The adoption of commercial electric vehicles means a huge opportunity for real-estate investors to build charging stations. Prologis, the $100 billion owner of industrial and logistical properties, has already reached a deal to build one such station in Southern California.

3. David Rosenberg warned investors not to repeat their mistakes before the 2008 financial crisis. The famed economist compared current predictions of a soft landing to the investor complacency ahead of the 2008 crash. "I am willing to acknowledge that the recession has been delayed. But it has not been derailed," he wrote in a recent memo.

3 things in

Tech

Myriam Wares for Insider

1. Why buying a home is still so complicated. Today's house hunters don't just face an inventory shortage and rising mortgage rates. With so many startups trying to update various parts of the process for the digital age, buying a home has actually gotten more complicated.

2. In the age of AI, the new luxury item will be humans. You can buy an overwhelming variety of items online. This abundance has taken much of the satisfaction away from purchasing physical things. This is why experiences, which by definition are finite, became more valuable.

3. Microsoft just shut down an “industrial metaverse” project. Project Airism was the company’s AI-based drone simulation software. But Microsoft confirmed that it’s discontinuing the project in December. And employees were told on Monday that the whole team would be laid off, according to a person familiar with the matter.

3 things in

Business

Arantza Pena Popo/Insider

1. Planet Fitness CEO firing remains a mystery, but former employees say his behavior raised some eyebrows. Chris Rondeau claims he was “seriously blindsided” by his ouster. But ex-staff say he kept a keg in his office and would have assistants withdraw thousands in cash from his personal bank accounts for travel.

2. How Snap lost its chance at becoming an advertising giant. Snap’s ad business makes up almost all of its revenue. But it’s been losing a steady stream of advertisers to TikTok. Plus, it still hasn’t fully recovered from Apple’s privacy feature. So, its ad business has some major hurdles to overcome.

3. It’s hard to know how much Uber and Lyft drivers are paid. Different pay calculations, car expenses, and customer tips can produce a wide range of driver incomes. Their hourly pay can be as low as $9 or as high as $40 — depending on who’s calculating.

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The Insider Today team

Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

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