Loon Balloon Descends from Fantastic Heights to Parking Lot
May 31, 2021
I read “Alphabet Moonshot Loon Is Jolted by Layoffs – But Employees Are Finding Jobs with Tech Titan.” The article is amusing because of the assertion that “employees are finding jobs with tech titan.” How many Loonies will be joining other units of the online advertising company? The article does not answer the question because that would reveal the functioning of the people management methods at the firm.
I noted this statement in the write up:
Mountain View-based Loon decided to wind down the company after it wasn’t able to craft a viable and sustainable business model.
Yep, the online ad firm learned that balloons floated with the wind. Bad weather? It happens, and the Loon balloons would go where Google did not want them to venture. Flight paths, military facilities, transmission lines. You get the idea.
Here’s a statement which may ring hollow with Timnit Gebru:
Loon and Alphabet intend to help the displaced workers, a Loon spokesperson said in an email to this news organization.
Help, it appears has not been defined. A member of the high school science club management team allegedly said:
If Loon employees do not find alternative roles at Alphabet, they will be eligible to receive severance pay following their end dates.
Loon balloons come down to earth, and it is possible that some Xooglers will be able to park their vans in the parking lot instead of on the street in Mountain View. Cost cutting and reality have intruded on the mom and pop online ad merchant it seems.
Stephen E Arnold, May 31, 2021
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