WotC's Annual Xmas Layoffs

The Little Raven

First Post

• Dec 15, 2011

• #31

Piratecat said:

That just sucks. I don't ever think I'll understand their criteria for who gets laid off.

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I would guess that it's based on what will save the company more money. Rich Baker was probably one of the more highly paid employees due to his long history with the company and his position near the top of the D&D hierarchy.

Add to that the fact that the economy is still crap and some predictions show a far grimmer future than previous ones, and I'm actually surprised its only two this time around.

This makes me quite sad, as Rich Baker has been a favorite of mine since I got him to sign my Birthright boxed set over ten years ago.

 

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tuxgeo

Adventurer

• Dec 15, 2011

• #32

Admired both gentlemen; I'll leave off the expression of degree to save space.

Didn't Steve Winter hire, or at least help train, Chris Perkins?
They can't let Perkins go yet, though, can they? WotC still needs him to run the next adventure of Acquisitions Incorporated at GenCon PAX Prime 2012; then they could lay him off in time for the following Christmas, if they wanted to -- after he wraps up his Epic-level Iomandra campaigns.

(Brrr. This puts Perkins' publishing of his 4E rewrites of the "Giants" adventures in a chilling new light -- does he have greater ability to get them published in Dungeon while he's still working there?)

Edit: Acquisitions Incorporated at "PAX Prime," of course; not at GenCon.

 

Last edited: Dec 16, 2011

William Ronald

Explorer

• Dec 15, 2011

• #33

Best wishes to Steve Winter, Rich Baker, and the other WotC employees who lost their jobs. I wish them success in their future endeavors.

 

J

Janx

Hero

• Dec 15, 2011

• #34

The Little Raven said:

I would guess that it's based on what will save the company more money. Rich Baker was probably one of the more highly paid employees due to his long history with the company and his position near the top of the D&D hierarchy.

Add to that the fact that the economy is still crap and some predictions show a far grimmer future than previous ones, and I'm actually surprised its only two this time around.

This makes me quite sad, as Rich Baker has been a favorite of mine since I got him to sign my Birthright boxed set over ten years ago.

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there's a lot of factors, many of them social.

When times are tight, lay-offs are a regular thing. This in turn gets used by management to clean house.

initially, you dump the low performers or older, pricier employees

after a few rounds of that, there's really nobody who sucks.

At that point, it gets political and personal.

then you identify somebody you don't like and assign them impossible tasks, flag every time they miss a deadline and ignore any successes they had that year. By the time reviews come around, you give the guy a bad grade, and he's the one identified by upper management for the next cuts.

Wotc is a habitual christmas time layer-offer. I think overall, they set a bad trend as an employer.

 

Remus Lupin

Adventurer

• Dec 15, 2011

• #35

I don't think I'll ever understand the idea that a) you should lay people off right before the holidays, thus ruining them, and b) laying off your best and most experienced employees. And don't explain why it makes economic sense. I'm not talking about the economics here.

 

3

3catcircus

Adventurer

• Dec 15, 2011

• #36

Remus Lupin said:

And don't explain why it makes economic sense. I'm not talking about the economics here.

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It actually, doesn't make any economic sense, in the long run.

When you let experienced people go and end up hiring them back as freelancers, you can save a few bucks. Eventually, though, they'll likely re-hire some of them as full-time employees, at which point any savings realized from letting them go are wiped out by the larger salary you have to pay them when you re-hire them. Not to mention all the extra overhead of processing them back into your HR systems.

 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

• Dec 15, 2011

• #37

I understand the tax reasons for laying someone off in December, but this was not a decision reached this month, and to lay someone off now is reprehensible. Making a habit of it is outright offensive.

 

darjr

I crit!

• Dec 15, 2011

• #38

Yea. It turns my stomach. I mean there isn't a good time to lay someone off, but this certainly is one of the worst if not THE worst time.

 

William Ronald

Explorer

• Dec 15, 2011

• #39

Mark CMG said:

Here's hoping they both (and whoever else gets laid off) land on their feet soon.

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I hope so, Mark. They have done a lot of great work over the years and I am sure that their experience and contacts will help them out. Still, it must be painful to leave WotC considering everything that they have seen over several years with them and TSR.

 

IronWolf

blank

• Dec 15, 2011

• #40

Best wishes to Rich Baker and Steve Winter. Not real sure what WotC is thinking. I agree letting experience walk out the door can be a difficult position for a company.

I just don't understand why WotC does this every year at Christmas. I mean if it happens once, I can see. But every year this happens. Can't they work their books a bit to push this off to a different time. Layoffs are never good, but the feeling of animosity towards WotC seems much higher when they insist on doing this just before the holidays.

We are in a small niche hobby, it doesn't help to look like Ebenezer Scrooge during the holidays - every year.