The New York Times has a mind blowing article about what Elon Musk’s cost cutting at Twitter looks like. And I do mean mind blowing. Let’s start with Elon cutting data centres. Something that I reported on last week:
Early on Christmas Eve, members of the billionaire’s staff flew to Sacramento — the site of one of Twitter’s three main computing storage facilities — to disconnect servers that had kept the social network running smoothly. Some employees were worried that losing those servers could cause problems, but saving money was the priority, according to two people who were familiar with the move but not authorized to talk about it.
The data center shutdown was one of many drastic steps Mr. Musk has undertaken to stabilize Twitter’s finances. Over the past few weeks, Twitter had stopped paying millions of dollars in rent and services, and Mr. Musk had told his subordinates to renegotiate those agreements or simply end them. The company has stopped paying rent at its Seattle office, leading it to face eviction, two people familiar with the matter said. Janitorial and security services have been cut, and in some cases employees have resorted to bringing their own toilet paper to the office.
And:
Those cuts may be yielding consequences. On Wednesday, users around the world reported service interruptions with Twitter. Some were logged out, while others encountered error messages while visiting the website. Twitter has not explained what caused the temporary outage. Three people familiar with the company’s infrastructure said that if the Sacramento facility had still been operating, it could have helped alleviate the problem by providing backup computing capacity when other data centers failed.
But it doesn’t stop there. Here’s where we get to the mind blowing part of this:
Last week, Twitter got rid of the cleaning staff at its New York offices and 10 people from corporate security, signaling that it may close one of its two buildings there, said two people familiar with the move.
At Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, where the company has missed rent payments, Mr. Musk has done the same, consolidating workers onto two floors and closing four. He also canceled janitorial services this month, after those workers went on strike for better wages.
That has left the office in disarray. With people packed into more confined spaces, the smell of leftover takeout food and body odor has lingered on the floors, according to four current and former employees. Bathrooms have grown dirty, these people said. And because janitorial services have largely been ended, some workers have resorted to bringing their own rolls of toilet paper from home.
That last paragraph blows my mind because it makes working at Twitter akin to working in a sweatshop in a third world country. It also makes Elon look like a Grade A scumbag because nobody in a leadership position should want their employees working in such conditions. But as it’s become clear over that last few weeks, that’s not who Elon is. Elon does whatever he wants and he clearly doesn’t care anything about the people who work for him. Thus why I consider him to be a Grade A scumbag. Though I suspect at some level he does care because….:
He has also asked some leaders to snuff out the sources of leaks to the press and anonymous posts on social media sites, three people said, and is focused on eliminating people inside the company he believes are opposed to him.
Well good luck with that Elon. When you get people upset, screw them over, and act like a dictator, you’re going to have some people lining up to take shots at you by going to the press and telling them things that you don’t want out in public. Which by the way I hope people continue to do because Elon needs to be exposed for everything that he is.
Good thing that I’m off of Twitter in a couple of days. This place sounds like a horrible place to work.
Rogers – Shaw Merger Approved By Competition Tribunal… Which Means That Canadian Consumers Are One Step Closer To Being Screwed
Posted in Commentary with tags Rogers, Shaw on December 30, 2022 by itnerdCanadian telco consumers should prepare to have less competition in the telco space because late last night the merger of Rogers and Shaw which has been fought by Canada’s competition watchdog have been approved. CBC has the details:
In a summary of its decision released Thursday, the tribunal says the merger of the two telecommunications companies would not result in materially higher prices.
The decision says the deal, which includes the sale of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile to Quebecor-owned Videotron, would not likely prevent or lessen competition substantially.
Quebecor agreed to buy Freedom Mobile in a $2.85-billion deal earlier this year.
Concerns that Bell and Telus — the closest competitors to Rogers in Canada’s telecom market — would be unable to compete with the combined company were also dismissed.
“The tribunal has also determined that the strengthening of Rogers’ position in Alberta and British Columbia, combined with the very significant competitive initiatives that Telus and Bell have been pursuing since the merger was announced, will also likely contribute to an increased intensity of competition in those markets,” the decision reads.
It says a more detailed decision will be released in the next two days.
I’m sorry, but this decision is horrible for Canadians because the exact opposite is going to happen as there’s going to be one less player in the marketplace. While this still has to be approved by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, I expect that to be a rubber stamp as the current federal government in Canada pays lip service to having an affordable and competitive telco space. Canadian consumers might want to remember that when the next election comes and vote accordingly.
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