Profit doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make the line go up! It’s a failing company because line didn’t go up! Tractors aren’t the product. Only line is product. All hail line. If we pray to line, perhaps line go up?
Yes, yes, now: about those executive paychecks. We feel $27M per year isn’t competitive. We’re thinking more like 500M. To start.
They wouldn’t use the word competitive though. They use that word for the lower employees, and its meaning is “we’d pay you lower if we could”. Well actually I guess for a few hundred they did just that by going to zero. Nothing can be done though, line is all. The joke at my work is about the company stock price. All praise stock. We don’t see anything from it, but it’s glorious.
Humanity is not important. Humanity must sacrifice itself for The Line.
The Line will continue to Go Up, whether or not humanity is around to see it. All hail the Line.
Me furiously taking post-apocalyptic worldbuilding notes from your comment 🫨🫨🫨
The Line will the people, from the Place of Lies to the Land of Plenty. The Line does not deviate.
Yup sadly with how the Crockmarket works a company can fail because the line didn’t go up. If it doesn’t go up investors will pull out and kill a company but this thinking is bullshit because as soon as a company starts to dip some will sell but others will step in and then the new line is a bit lower but then it can go up without layoffs.
The need for year-over-year growth is ultimately strangling the system. At the moment it is easy to lay a bunch of people off and claim that growth. Eventually (at some point in the future), it won’t be mathematically possible unless the C-suite starts taking pay cuts, or they at least start eschewing their crazy bonuses. Expect them to milk that for good press (“These forward-thinking CEOs are dumping the bonuses for… insert any random bullshit here!”) or other such marketing nonsense.
Eventually, it will stop, when the system no longer functions at all. Infinite year-over-year growth across the board is an impossibility.
It’s not inflation if companies are posting record profits.
$10 billion might be record breaking but not the record breaking you are thinking of. 2017 was the last time they posted profits around $10 billion or less.
If a company makes 10 billion dollars, they should be able to hire more people or pay everyone more. Instead that money is siphoned by unemployed bums who have absolutely nothing to do with the company - the “investors.”
If this system weren’t already in place, we would consider it completely comical.
Except their profits need to also cover: Reinvestment in the Business: This includes spending on research and development, upgrading equipment, expanding operations, and improving infrastructure.
Debt Repayment: Reducing existing debt to strengthen the company’s financial position.
Dividends: Distributing a portion of profits to shareholders as dividends.
Share Buybacks: Purchasing the company’s own shares to reduce the number of outstanding shares and increase the value of remaining shares.
Employee Compensation: Providing bonuses, raises, benefits, and other non-salary incentives to employees.
Mergers and Acquisitions: Acquiring or merging with other companies to expand market reach and capabilities.
Savings and Reserves: Setting aside funds for future investments or as a buffer against economic downturns.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Investing in community projects, environmental sustainability, and other social initiatives.
Marketing and Advertising: Increasing brand awareness and market presence through marketing campaigns.
Technology Upgrades: Investing in new technologies to enhance efficiency and productivity.
To name a few.
If anyone hasn’t watched the latest Wendover Productions video, I highly recommend it.
It covers John Deere’s transition into a technology company and details why they’re laying off a lot workers. Link
I think they’re going “fabless”, and focusing on the automation technology and leaving the manufacturing to third parties.
Wonder if you could leave the bs out and order directly from the suppliers.
These guys are planning on running a negative added value company.
They’re selling the software that makes all the shit actually work. So you’d get a tractor with a bunch of processing power and have to program it yourself.
I’m one of those guys that’s getting laid off 😭
Sorry to hear this nobody deserves to be laid off. I hope you have a lot of money stashed away.
Laying off employees should be illegal. Fuck greedy dirty executives and CEOs.
It’s actually not that bad because I’m in the UAW. So contractually, Deere still pays me “subpay” for almost a year (way less, but it’s something) and I keep my health insurance for 6 months. I also get callback rights for 3 years and I’m one of the first like 50 guys to get called back. I heard from a guy that would get fired for saying so that we’ll be back about the first of the year, so I’m just pretending it’s a long vacation.
I feel really bad for some of my salaried friends, they have no protections. They don’t get subpay, they don’t keep their insurance, and they definitely don’t get callback rights. Those poor bastards don’t even know who’s getting canned yet.
Meanwhile Deere spent billions buying back stock and sending our jobs to fuckin Mexico. When we went on strike I said we should open negotiations by rolling the CEO’s severed head across the table. Everyone said “God damn Bizzle, you ever consider chilling?” but now look, they think they can do whatever they want. No accountability. Welcome to the “Land of the Free”, as long as you’re fabulously wealthy.
