D&D General WotC Founder Peter Adkison On Hasbro's Layoffs

Peter Adkison, who owned Wizards of the Coast until it was sold to Hasbro in 1999, oversaw the relaunch of Dungeons & Dragons with D&D 3rd Edition. Today, he commented on this week's round of Hasbro layoffs, which have ripped through WotC. Adkison left WotC in 2000 and currently runs a production company called Hostile Work Environment.

Like many of you, I'm saddened to learn about the layoffs at Hasbro.

Caveat: I have no idea of what’s happening behind the scenes at WotC. If you’re asking who’s at fault, or to what extent it was or was not justified, that’s outside the scope of my knowledge. This post is about my own reflections.

When I read about the layoffs at Hasbro my immediate feeling was shame. Shame for when I did the same thing, at the same company (WotC, before we sold it to Hasbro).

I have made lots of mistakes, tons of them, more than I can even remember. And while I regret those mistakes, and I’m sad for those hurt, I realize it’s part of learning and it’s part of being human.

But layoffs, when handed poorly, or when they are unnecessary, aren’t just mistakes. They are failings of character. Those times when I had a failure of character, those are the moments that haunt me.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You're saying that layoffs meant to increase shareholder wealth, apart from any other external financial conditions, are killing multiple industries? What are examples of such industries?

Local newspapers, for one, many of which are owned now by hedge funds that are laying people off from profitable newspapers until the point that the content gets so meager that they can no longer attract enough advertising to stay in business, and they shut the business down because it's not even in good enough shape to be sold to anyone else.

More than 2,000 newspapers in the U.S. have closed since 2004.

Similarly, Toys R Us and Bed, Bath and Beyond were both killed by leveraged buyouts forced upon the companies by hedge funds. They were already struggling to deal with the headwinds created by Amazon, but "shareholder value" was what dealt them the death blow. Both now exist only as brands acquired by new companies. (Bed, Bath and Beyond is now the name being used by the former Overstock.com.)

Focusing only on shareholder value is like prioritizing the fleas' and ticks' health over the dog's.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

How many people accept the offer (or ask for more) compared to how many ask to be paid significantly less? I feel safe in saying it's valid generalization to say the first is a much greater % than the latter. I wouldn't think this is in dispute, but apparently you feel it is.

So, when I'm politely ask you to stop doing something three times, your answer is "tough crap?"

 

[TheSword]

Local newspapers, for one, many of which are owned now by hedge funds that are laying people off from profitable newspapers until the point that the content gets so meager that they can no longer attract enough advertising to stay in business, and they shut the business down because it's not even in good enough shape to be sold to anyone else.

More than 2,000 newspapers in the U.S. have closed since 2004.

Focusing only on shareholder value is like prioritizing the fleas' and ticks' health over the dog's.

Woah. You think the reduction in print media is because of cut-throat finances.
And not because of you know… the internet and climate change.
Really bad example.

Investment/investors also allow company’s to grow and employ more people. If businesses were limited to the capital they themselves could raise we’d all be ploughing fields.

Calling shareholders (many of whom are average people trying to put a bit of money to one side for retirement) fleas is a poor show.

Many of the investment funds/shareholders that are being attacked here are also acting for the pension funds that everyone is hoping will see them through the final years of their lives.

It’s really easy to attack the system until you realize that it’s all linked and everyone is the beneficiary. It could be more equal - certainly but demonizing folks just trying to do a job is self destructive.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Woah. You think the reduction in print media is because of cut-throat finances.

Yeah, I do. Internet advertising being substantially less lucrative than print advertising has been a huge factor, since newspapers staffed way up in the late 1990s.

But the death blow is 100% companies like Alden Global Capital, as most of those newspaper they acquired were still profitable at the time they were gobbled up. Most of them were not on death's door or in any real danger of closing.

If this is a new idea to you, I recommend throwing "Alden Global Capital" and "local newspapers" into the search engine of your choice and reading the many, many, many results.

 

[Sacrosanct]

So, when I'm politely ask you to stop doing something three times, your answer is "tough crap?"

No. Rather, you don't have the authority to tell me what I can or cannot say. Especially when you're asking me to stop making a statement that is true (most people when offered a job will accept the salary or ask for more, and NOT tell the company they will only accept significantly less). Just because you don't like what someone says doesn't mean you get to tell them to stop saying it. There are other tools available to you. If you're interpreting that to mean I'm telling you "tough crap" I don't know what to tell you. That's entirely on you. Because that's not what I'm doing. I'm making a claim, one that largely is accurate and I'd think we all already know it's accurate, and advising you to stop trying to control what I can or cannot say just because for whatever reason you don't like hearing it. I've never accused you of anything in that claim.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Rather, you don't have the authority to tell me what I can or cannot say.

No, I don't. I was just hoping you had the good manners to stop speaking for me, when asked, politely, repeatedly. Have a nice life.

 

[TheSword]

Yeah, I do. Internet advertising being substantially less lucrative than print advertising has been a huge factor, since newspapers staffed way up in the late 1990s.

But the death blow is 100% companies like Alden Global Capital, as most of those newspaper they acquired were still profitable at the time they were gobbled up. Most of them were not on death's door or in any real danger of closing.

If this is a new idea to you, I recommend throwing "Alden Global Capital" and "local newspapers" into the search engine of your choice and reading the many, many, many results.

Nah. It’s due to competition from apple news and cheaper advertising streams through social media and the internet.

Ignoring that is totally sticking your head in the sand.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nah. It’s due to competition from apple news and cheaper advertising streams through social media and the internet.

Ignoring that is totally sticking your head in the sand.

I have a lot of knowledge of the business end of this field, going back decades.

As I said, trading print dollars for digital dimes is absolutely a factor, but when healthy businesses are bought up and then people are laid off to hit profitability targets they never hit beforehand, and eventually the product suffers to the point that it dies, that's not the internet's fault.

In any case, there's a ton of info out there on this. Just look it up online if you're sincerely interested in this issue.

 

[Sacrosanct]

No, I don't. I was just hoping you had the good manners to stop speaking for me, when asked, politely, repeatedly. Have a nice life.

I'm not sure how many times I need to keep saying this, but I'm not speaking for you. When I say "most people do this." that in no way means you unless you're putting yourself in that group. I didn't say "everyone". I didn't say "Whizbang Dustyboots".

 

[Von Ether]

also acting for the pension funds that everyone is hoping will see them through the final years of their lives.

I'd take an honest pension over this gambling over the crumbs we get as a thank you, Those rich dude playing with all our retirement money in bulk will still retire in style and complain it wasn't enough for their "work." Meanwhile, I still might not get nothing, like back in the aughts when my 401k dropped like a stone.

I' honestly regret now not doing a straight 17 or 20 in the military from back in the day.

I could be wrong, but when someone asks, "When did employee feel like they didn't own any loyalty to companies anymore?" I point to the replacement of the pension with the 401k.