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.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I bet Chris Cox with his huge undeserved bonus sleeps easily at night, morally to torment him at all sadly.

Mod Note:

That is a HUGE assumption based on ZERO ascertainable information. That kind of baseless speculation about people’s moral character is a good way to get Moderator attention.

Well, here it is. Enjoy!

 

[Michael Linke]

Christmas layoffs seem a common thing in the US, I guess it is something to do with the tax year rather than just to be spiteful.

Most layoffs involve a severance package that ensures the outgoing employees are actually still “payed” through Christmas. Nothing makes up for the fact that they’re out of work going into the new year, of course.

 

[Umbran]

Anyone out there buying a game because Chris Cox theoretically had something to do with it? Anyone?

Chris Cox is Chief Product Officer for Facebook.

Chris Cocks is CEO of Hasbro.

 

[Umbran]

And if they were paid more appropriately, housing prices wouldn't be as inflated.

How many CEOs do you think are out there competing for basic, low-end housing that they drive the price up on it?

 

[Estlor]

The thing about corporate layoffs is this - it's not about personal performance in any way. It is simply a function of having made a budget guess at the beginning of the year and the actual revenue of the year not meeting that forecast. In modern capitalism, you either make more money than you did last year or you have failed. Period. It's not about being profitable. It's about growing value. And when you can't do that organically through sales and licensing, you do it artificially through layoffs.

The reason it always hits around Christmas is you do the final forecasts at the end of November when you have the opportunity to make real, impactful changes before the fiscal calendar closes for the year. If your books close December 31st, you can't wait until December 26th to make adjustments. Honestly, if businesses are going to continue to do this - and they absolutely will - it would be better if they told people about the layoffs in mid-November so they can enter the Christmas season with actual expectations of their finances BEFORE they start buying presents and planning trips.

None of this is an attempt to be an apologist for the situation. Having gone through several rounds of layoffs at my company - three this year alone - I can say no one goes through them without being profoundly impacted. It hurts the people who lose their jobs. It shatters the morale of the people who don't. It is incredibly difficult for the managers who have to make and communicate the decisions. While the burden of this does not fall equally on each party, only a sociopath can go through the experience and feel nothing. I don't know Chris Cocks personally and have not read enough about him to know for sure, but I'll bet the odds and say he's neither a sociopath nor unfazed by this.

... Especially considering the friggin' price of Transformers and Marvel Legends is the real culprit here.

 

[Parmandur]

CEOs should never make more than 10x what the lowest-paid employee makes. And 2x-3x is more reasonable. And if they were paid more appropriately, housing prices wouldn't be as inflated.

While I agree, amdthis can be accomplished and is in manybcountries....that's a matter of national economic policy, not the decisions of even one mid sized corporation.

Hate the game, not the player.

 

[Parmandur]

Most layoffs involve a severance package that ensures the outgoing employees are actually still “payed” through Christmas. Nothing makes up for the fact that they’re out of work going into the new year, of course.

Shoot, when I was made redundant before Thabksgiving of 2017, I was given like 3 or 4 mo ths severance.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Shoot, when I was made redundant before Thabksgiving of 2017, I was given like 3 or 4 mo ths severance.

Nowadays, be very careful when an employer offers you severance.

Still, I hear the waffle parties are good.

 

[Shardstone]

How does Snoop Dog feel about the layoffs?

 

[Sacrosanct]

While I agree, amdthis can be accomplished and is in manybcountries....that's a matter of national economic policy, not the decisions of even one mid sized corporation.

Hate the game, not the player.

The funny thing is, despite the attacks and criticism at Chris, I'd bet nearly everyone here would take the same deal he did without a second thought or complaint.