As of writing, there have been upwards of 100,000 layoffs in tech in 2023–Many of them coming from big tech.
On January 19th, amazon laid off another 18,000 people, and earlier in the week Microsoft laid off 10,000 workers.
Last week, coinbase and salesforce each laid off thousands of workers.
Later in the week, Alphabet (google) announced they were to layoff 12,000 long-time employees.
What is the common denominator in all these scenarios?
CEO compensation is little changed. They take accountability only in theory and not through real consequences.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff gives lipservice amid layoffs:
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how we came to this moment. As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we’re now facing, and I take responsibility for that.“
-Marc Benioff
But the reality is that he takes no cut in compensation. He faces no consequences. He does not sell the private jets the company pays for him to use. He does not sell his $100m estate. He simply feigns accountability, which is cheap and easy.
This completely contradicts what he said in 2019 regarding CEO accountability. In a CNN segment, Benioff stated that CEOs should not only pay more taxes but also work to increase value for stakeholders, not just shareholders. This all sounds great, but where is the action?
It’s too easy for the casual “Leader” to fake virtue without facing consequences. This dynamic allows them to escape accountability while throwing workers under the bus time and time again.
Should A CEO Sell His $133 million mansion before Cutting Costs?
Brian Armstrong, CEO, of Coinbase owns a $133 million mansion in Bel Air. In January 2023, Brian and Coinbase slashed 950 jobs shortly after laying off 18% of its workforce in June of 2022.
Clearly, the company is under duress, but the only expenses it seems to want to part with are those having to do with human capital. The expenses that are indeed ‘must haves’ are those that get money directly into the pockets of top executives.
Some might view this as a breach of the social contract: When a supposed leader would let his people suffer before sacrificing any of his spoils.
This type of behavior is seen throughout history. I recommend you take a look at this article to understand more about these themes throughout time.