The Scoop #15: a Reality Check for the Public Tech Markets

Also: are promo committees really killing Big Tech open-source contributions? And a look behind layoffs conducted in secret at Tesla.

The Scoop is a bonus series, covering patterns and trends I observe and hear about within Big Tech and at high-growth startups. Have a scoop to share? Send me a message!

We’re covering a variety of topics today:

• Microsoft to disclose pay ranges for all its US job listings. Why are they doing this, and will this move force other companies like Amazon, Google or Facebook to follow?

• Amazon trying to save on work-from-home expenses. And getting sued by a software engineer for not paying their internet costs. Why is Amazon being sued, but not other tech companies?

• Are promo committees killing open-source contributions from Big Tech? Kubernetes is struggling to hold onto core contributors working at Big Tech. Is this a systemic issue or an isolated one?

• Tesla’s secret layoffs. No announcements, one-week severance and disguising mass layoffs as performance-based firings. Will Tesla get away with it, or will this hurt its future hiring efforts?

• Downsizing at Sourcegraph: exclusive. Sourcegraph let 8% of its team go, doing so in the complete opposite of how Tesla executed layoffs. Exclusive details. Can other companies learn something from how Sourcegraph did these layoffs?

• A reality check on the public markets. Analyzing what Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared with employees, recently. His message is still very much relevant.