30 replies

1. naugtur Bluesky 3 min later

   I wholeheartedly agree, but I have doubts if this logic applies to the recent Tailwind implosion.

   1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 10 min later

      say more?

      1. naugtur Bluesky 14 min later

         bsky.app/profile/sara...

         Doesn't seem like "management" could have done a better job other than generally solving the whole OSS funding problem

         1. naugtur Bluesky 16 min later

            Or a less balanced yet still valuable take here:

            bsky.app/profile/jame...

            1. James Sumners Bluesky 2 hr later

               I’m not balanced? 😂

               1. naugtur Bluesky 10 hr later

                  You are a perfectly balanced person.
                  Your take on this on the other hand - was a little on the spicy side 😅

         2. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 23 min later

            Ok. I think I said what I wanted to say in my first post

            1. naugtur Bluesky 50 min later

               That's a useful clarification. Thanks. Food for thought

            2. Wes Bluesky 1 hr later

               I think I agree with you. The whole mess *SUCKS*; I absolutely feel for everyone involved, and hope all the folks impacted are alright. But...this is not simply an "oss funding issue". Building a company around services and support for a company owned OSS product is an entirely different problem.

            3. Sámal Rasmussen Bluesky 15 hr later

               I still don't understand in what way you mean that the Tailwind leadership failed in this case. Are you suggesting you know that they should have known to do something differently? In that case what?

         3. Luke Bluesky 29 min later

            "management" could have done less evangelising of AI tools to his many followers though...
            Admittedly I don't use Twitter basically ever but I've definitely seen him mentioning AI tools.

            I can't help but feel slightly mixed on it.

            Obviously still funding OSS is harder than it should be.

            1. naugtur Bluesky 55 min later

               I'm on the fence about AI enthusiasts getting eaten alive by the basilisk.

               When that happens, I don't experience the schadenfreude at all.

               1. Luke Bluesky 56 min later

                  Yeah to be clear I don't either, but I also don't feel as much sympathy.

                  1. naugtur Bluesky 1 hr later

                     My point is - I kinda do feel sympathy. It's a fellow human hurting from the hand of an intelligence I have little in common with (regardless of whether we consider the AI or the billionaire the perpetrator of said hurting)

2. Marco Hengstenberg Mastodon 4 min later

   @zachleat is this a subtoot/relatoot to something I missed or just you being philosophical (and absolutely right in my opinion, may I add)?

   1. Sara Joy Mastodon 18 min later

      @nice2meatu tailwind, presumably? @zachleat

      1. Marco Hengstenberg Mastodon 43 min later

         @sarajw @zachleat Oh! Just looked it up. Sad for those who had to go I must say.

3. Jim Nielsen Mastodon 5 min later

   @zachleat and yet, layoffs are conducive to increased comp packages for leadership — make it make sense

4. Private reply Mastodon 5 min later
5. Jesse Sutherland Bluesky 7 min later

   What's this in reference to? I fully agree btw. My recent organization (McGill University) had 100+ layoffs and yet no upper management changes or resignations. And more cuts to come. Total shambles.

   1. Eva Ogbe Bluesky 2 hr later

      Tailwind laid off 75% of their staff claiming that people are using LLMs to do what the products they sell do

   2. Mastro.{js,ts} Bluesky May 8, 2026

      Cloudflare layoffs 😞

      1. Mastro.{js,ts} Bluesky May 8, 2026

         oh, I should look at the dates. but the repost was in reference to CF 😅

6. Mayank Mastodon 46 min later

   @zachleat yes, thank you! it really bothers me that one guy gets to control the narrative and blames it on some external factor.

   they had ~3 years to react, it surely didn't come as a surprise.

   1. Zach Leatherman Mastodon 18 hr later

      @mayank I don’t have their ARR numbers but I do believe it’s in the millions (still)

7. Simon Zimmerman Bluesky 10 hr later

   What if the layoffs are a strategic choice? A way of reducing costs in response to external forces? I don’t think it’s right to say all layoffs are a leadership failure.

   1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 18 hr later

      in your mind, what is the venn diagram of “strategic choice” and “leadership failure?”

      1. Simon Zimmerman Bluesky 20 hr later

         While most probably are, I’m suggesting that not all layoffs are leadership failures. I suspect M&A would provide good examples of when layoffs are an inevitable, strategic outcome.

8. Rik Schennink Mastodon 10 hr later

   @zachleat when a billion dollar enterprise barricades your store entrance and gives a scrambled version of your product away for free, what could you do about it?

   I’m asking because I might be next in line, luckily I’ll only have to fire myself.

9. Hugh Spanner Bluesky 17 hr later

   Not always true, e.g. when you are extracting a finite good. BP would have done better if it had carried on extracting oil until uneconomical, than trying to pivot to green tech. Also true that automation is a good reason for reducing workforce.