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submitted 11 months ago by haxor@derp.foo to c/hackernews@derp.foo

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[-] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 27 points 11 months ago

ha... let me get this straight.... they have to pay this exec millions of dollars with the justification being 'that is the cost of talent'

here the 'talent' 100% failed to turn the company around to turn a profit, but are out the door with their millions of dollars.. because of their 'talent'.

in the meantime, there are absolutely humans literally begging for food in america.

[-] scytale@lemm.ee 13 points 11 months ago

While laying off a significant chunk of employees at that.

[-] Restaldt@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

You forgot the part where he gets hired somewhere else in the same or higher position because "C levels have to be willing to take risks" or something

[-] palitu@aussie.zone 3 points 11 months ago

Not quite. He sold his shares.

[-] teejay@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

What do you mean "not quite"? Those shares were part of his compensation / pay. OP is exactly right -- tech executive gets paid millions regardless of actual performance (in this case very poor performance that likely resulted in him being shown the door). Meanwhile, there are folks in this country who can't afford shelter or a meal.

Next time Spotify should hire a homeless person as CFO for half as much as the ousted CFO. Same job performance results, but they'd save millions and actually do some good in the process.

[-] palitu@aussie.zone 2 points 11 months ago

I thought they were talking about an exit payment.

But if he is selling his remuneration shares, then that is different.

I guess more annoyed at the size of their remuneration.

[-] sloppy_diffuser@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

"Golden Parachute"

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Isn't this blatant insider trading? He sold shares knowing his departure could lower stock prices. I don't see how it isn't, since they didn't announce his departure until after he sold.

[-] BleatingZombie@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

I would think so. The only reason I wouldn't see it that way is if he's being fired specifically for the massive sell

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 2 points 11 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Spotify has announced that the chief financial officer, Paul Vogel, is to leave, days after cashing in $9.3m (£7.4m) in shares in the wake of the music streaming service announcing it is to cut almost a fifth of its global workforce.

Vogel, who cashed in $9.3m in shares as Spotify’s shares soared after the announcement that 1,500 jobs would be cut, will leave in March, ending an eight-year stint at the company.

Since his promotion to finance chief three years ago, Spotify has continued to show strong subscriber gains, from 124 million to 226 million, while quarterly revenue has grown from €1.86bn (£1.6bn) to €3.36bn.

However, despite cementing its position as the world’s biggest streaming service, Spotify has struggled to achieve sustainable profitability and has a high cost base, paying music licence fees to the big record labels.

“Over time, we’ve come to the conclusion that Spotify is entering a new phase and needs a new chief financial officer with a different mix of experiences,” said Daniel Ek, a co-founder and the chief executive of Spotify.

“As a result, we’ve decided to part ways, but I am very appreciative of the steady hand Paul has provided in supporting the expansion of our business through a global pandemic and unprecedented economic uncertainty.”


The original article contains 309 words, the summary contains 211 words. Saved 32%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2023
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