| ▲ | mooreds 13 hours ago |
| I'll probably get some flack for this, but this is about as good of a layoff email as he could have sent. * explains the reasons (financials, AI enablement) * talks about what folks who are leaving get in detail (first) and thanks them * talks to the folks who are staying Layoffs are hard, no doubt, and I am not sure he's making the right choice. I see plenty of doubt about some of the actions in other comments that echoes mine. I certainly wouldn't want to have 15 direct reports and also ship production code regularly. But as CEO, it's his job to make these kinds of choices. The proof is in the pudding as they say. We'll see how Coinbase does with this new orientation in the next year or so and that will determine if this was a wise or foolish move. Is there a flood of talent leaving? Major breaches? Business as usual with better than expected profits? Time will tell. |
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| ▲ | vdnkh 11 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| This email was 100% AI generated. I just edited a similar sentence from a claude code doc I'm writing - "we're not just X, we're fundamentally Y" is an obvious tell. I guess he's putting his money where his mouth is |
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| ▲ | turtlebits 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Who cares? If you're getting laid off, the only thing that really matters is the severance package. Its all lip service - either AI generated or hand written. | | |
| ▲ | lkbm 5 hours ago | parent [-] | | > If you're getting laid off, the only thing that really matters is the severance package. I don't think this is true. Humans typically prefer "thanks for the hard work, here's your severance" to "you suck, here's your severance, loser." Humans like being treated with respect, and words are a big part of that. Money is nice, but it's not the only thing we care about. | | |
| ▲ | strken an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | The difference between the "thanks" email and the "loser" email is that the second one is intentionally disrespectful. I'm not convinced a polite but AI-written email hits the same note. At the very least it's unintentionally disrespectful, which isn't a direct challenge. Your boss doesn't care enough to write an email by hand, but also doesn't care enough to burn bridges and insult you. | |
| ▲ | rozap 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | It's the only thing crypto folks care about, so idk, I think it's fitting. |
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| ▲ | cyberclimb 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | > To get there, we are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. For sure this part screams LLM | | |
| ▲ | wifipunk 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | Reminds me grok "We’re not building Skynet, we’re cutting costs and putting the survivors on prompt duty" Anything in that format gives that AI feel |
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| ▲ | alexandre_m 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | I think a lot of LLMs are trained on corporate communications, and since companies have been copying each other for years, it’s hard to tell them apart. | | | |
| ▲ | machomaster 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | This is just good writing, not a 100% proof of AI being used. |
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| ▲ | prewett 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| > this is about as good of a layoff email as he could have sent. Except for that tone-deaf part at the end, where right after he talks to the people who "will be leaving" (that is, the people getting kicked out), he says that Coinbase will be stronger and healthier for this. Which makes it hard not to draw the conclusion that the people "leaving" are part of the unhealth. The CEO probably does not even think that, and just wants to reduce costs. But from what was written, the implications are decidecly suboptimal. |
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| ▲ | bombcar 5 hours ago | parent [-] | | It would be amusing but counterproductive to have a layoff email talk about how they’re firing their best and smartest employees. | | |
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