layoffs?

[Mike Selinker]

let me just add that it's hard not to laugh at the shocking and perhaps pitiable ineptitude of a company that makes role playing games that would lay off Jonathan Tweet, very likely the best rpg designer, well, period.

What Monte said. JoT hired me and many of the people who get thought of as the intellectual core of Wizards back in the day. He figured out how to revitalize D&D with an approach based on rationality and flexibility. And he'll do that for something else somewhere else, because he's the best game designer in America.

Mike

 

[Dumnbunny]

Second, I have to disagree with this one. Mass hiring/layoff of staff is not normal business practice by any stretch of the imagination.

Well, I spent about a decade working for [global mega-corporation], and my observations there and with the dozens of large corporations I worked with as clients, I have to say that layoffs are indeed normal.

For example, in my time at [global mega-corporation] I saw four waves of layoffs happen that effected my group, in addition to many others that effected other groups in other countries. Usually what would happen is the bean-counters would decide that each group across the country had to lose x% off their payroll to improve the financial reports for that quarter. Even groups that were performing above expectations would lose that x%.

Sure, they could tighten their belts in other areas, dip into financial reserves, etc. However, the problem is the perceptions that layoffs happen when a company is losing money. Sure, mass layoffs can happen then, but often the layoffs will happen when a company is making a profit, but isn't as profitable as they had projected. Dipping into cash reserves and other measures won't address this, but cutting payroll will. It will improve with quarterly reports, and Wall Street will reward them with higher share values.

Maybe this isn't the way it should be. I don't have an MBA, so I'll withhold comment on whether or not this is a smart way to do business. But from my observations, this is the way it is for a large number of corporations.

Hell, just google hasbro layoffs 2008 and you'll see that WotC isn't the first Hasbro unit to get hit.

 

[Fifth Element]

Actually, that's exactly my point. I'm pretty sure that H&R Block don't hire and then lay off a large number of permanent staff, if that's their business model. They'd use seasonal or short-term staff for their busy period (if they're sensible).

What's the difference between using seasonal workers, and hiring/laying off staff, other than the words used? In fact, when seasonal workers are done their season, the term used when you let them go is "laid off". Now seasonal work is more predictable as to when you'll start and when you'll be laid off, but there's little practical difference.

Trust me, I understand - I work in computer software, and in our business it's par for the course to have big spikes due to product releases. A well run business will meet those spikes by using contract staff.

So you mean freelancers, which WotC will be using more of now? That is their business model, as I understand it. Developing a new edition is done with a full-time staff, due to the commitment required (and probably also due to confidentiality concerns), while the supplement mill relies more on freelancers.

 

[gribble]

What you're missing is that these layoffs are likely not 100% due to the economic conditions. Historically, new edition releases have been followed by layoffs. They are probably greater due to the economy, but it's very simplistic to assume these layoffs could have been avoided if the company was "well run".

Not at all. That's exactly what I'm saying - it's more than likely (in fact, I'd say it's a given, with WotC's track record) that these layoffs aren't 100% due to the economy.

That, IME, implies that the company isn't well run. Companies who have a pattern of mass hirings/layoffs which match boom/bust cycles in their business aren't doing things right. Not only does it create ill-will towards and within the company (the less quantifiable effect), it's also a lot more costly and inefficient than hiring temporary staff and/or tightening the belt in other areas.

Well run companies can deliver cyclic services and products without requiring mass hiring/layoff of permanent staff. I know because I've seen it done, and currently work for a well run company that manages to do it even in the current economic climate.

 

[Friadoc]

Actually, that's exactly my point. I'm pretty sure that H&R Block don't hire and then lay off a large number of permanent staff, if that's their business model. They'd use seasonal or short-term staff for their busy period (if they're sensible).

Trust me, I understand - I work in computer software, and in our business it's par for the course to have big spikes due to product releases. A well run business will meet those spikes by using contract staff. You could say it's all in semantics, but at least with contract staff there is an understanding by both parties that the employment is only short term (often only for a specific project).

Nice point, Gribble. Plus, when you have an employment model that has seasonal layoffs as a known option, such as construction or manufacturing, it is stated often and early, with warnings as the yearly purge happens, with promises of binging at the turn of the year.

Good business models avoid layoffs, as much as they can, as it shows a strong demand for their services and products, instead of a fluctuating demand for it. When I was hired at Micron Technologies, back in late-Spring 2006, a big deal was made about how they had only had to layoff once in their history and that they were a stable employer, although they have laid off folk since, more than once, be it due to the market or other reasons within management.

While it is a reasonable option, workforce reduction/layoff, it is something that you come to when you cannot avoid it and is, generally, not something you should work into your longterm planning, at least without the employees knowing it. Although most of us on here are in no way exposed to the inner workings of Wizards of the Coast, or their parent company, there are some assumptions that are obvious and okay to make, they just do not need to be mean spirited, nasty, or like throwing gasoline in a fire in a crowded theater.

 

[joethelawyer]

Darrin, Monte, or anyone who knows how WOTC operates, do you know if it is their standard operating procedure to have employees sign some sort of non-compete agreement either as a part of their employment, or as a condition for a larger severance package? Just wondering about these guys' ability to work in the industry in the foreseeable future.

 

[Dragonklaw82]

I know its already been said, but let me extend my sincerest condolences. D&D has been an important part of my life for a long time now. It has been a great comfort to me when I was sad, and it has been the centerpiece which brings my friends and I together, even though we live in different corners of the country. It has given me many, many fond memories, and all of it was, in part, because of the work of these individuals. Thank you so much for the impact your work has had on my life. I wish you many blessings to come in yours.

- Nick Laney

 

[gribble]

Well, I spent about a decade working for [global mega-corporation], and my observations there and with the dozens of large corporations I worked with as clients, I have to say that layoffs are indeed normal.

Unfortunately the size of a company does not equate to how well it is run (currently).

Even the worst run company can grow very quickly if it has a successful product or service, and in fact it's often these sorts of companies that easily fall into the boom and bust cycle - quickly hiring too many staff to meet a current need, and then equally quickly laying them off once the current needs disappears.

I'm not saying that well run companies *never* lay off staff, sometimes even the best companies are surprised. What I'm saying is that they don't fall into a regular cycle of hiring and laying off staff as their workload ramps up and down. And (to bring things back on topic...), this is what WotC seems to be doing.

 

[Fifth Element]

Not at all. That's exactly what I'm saying - it's more than likely (in fact, I'd say it's a given, with WotC's track record) that these layoffs aren't 100% due to the economy.

That, IME, implies that the company isn't well run. Companies who have a pattern of mass hirings/layoffs which match boom/bust cycles in their business aren't doing things right.

(Emphasis added)

This is the part I'm saying is too simplistic. You are assuming that all companies in all industries should have business models that avoid layoffs. That is far too simplistic to be realistic.

Trust me, I have a degree in business management.

You say your own business fills in holes with contractors. There are a multitude of possible reasons why this wouldn't work for WotC's business. They use contractors (freelancers), but not for the development of a new edition. I can see why they would avoid freelancers for that.

 

[firesnakearies]

Man, that's terrible. Those are some really top-notch names in recent D&D history.

So my question to Mr. Tweet and Mr. Noonan is this:

Where can I make my Paypal payment to pre-order your upcoming releases from your new third-party publishing company?