NVIDIA CEO Promises Raises, No Job Cuts in the Wake of COVID-19

[btarunr]

In a letter addressed to employees, NVIDIA CEO Jen Hsun Huang promised that the COVID-19 crisis will not cause job-losses anywhere along the company's regular payroll. Instead, the company will expedite pay-raises, the CEO's letter reads. Jen Hsun stressed the importance for NVIDIA's 13,775-strong workforce to remain home and safe. The letter comes in the wake of industry-wide fears of job losses, which NVIDIA's workforce isn't immune from.

"Immediately I received questions about whether we are also planning a layoff. NO - precisely the opposite," he said. "We are accelerating your raise to put some extra money in your hands. We can put tens of millions of more dollars in the hands of our families in the coming months." Much of Jen Hsun's confidence despite a revenue hit stems from the rise in PC sales in the wake of COVID-19, as more organizations and individuals are picking up laptops or upgrading their home desktops, to prepare for an extended stint in their pyjamas. Then there's also the rise in gaming as a mass-entertainment.





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[RH92]

True leaders show their value in hard times so assuming he delivers , MASSIVE kudos to Jen-Hsun and Nvidia as a company !

 

[hat]

Not to knock nvidia here, but this shouldn't be hard for them. In the wake of SARS2, people are at home playing video games now than ever before. Some of us here in the US are even spending our stimulus money on Nvidia hardware. In other words, they're making a good move here, but it's not like Huang is digging deep into his pockets to keep his employees happy.

 

[$ReaPeR$]

Not to knock nvidia here, but this shouldn't be hard for them. In the wake of SARS2, people are at home playing video games now than ever before. Some of us here in the US are even spending our stimulus money on Nvidia hardware. In other words, they're making a good move here, but it's not like Huang is digging deep into his pockets to keep his employees happy.

Thank you. This is just pr crap.

 

[moproblems99]

Not to knock nvidia here, but this shouldn't be hard for them. In the wake of SARS2, people are at home playing video games now than ever before. Some of us here in the US are even spending our stimulus money on Nvidia hardware. In other words, they're making a good move here, but it's not like Huang is digging deep into his pockets to keep his employees happy.

Hey, a good deed is a good deed as far as I am concerned. Good on them. They could have just as easily cut hours/wages/jobs in order to save money and no one would have given them flak for it. I doubt the raise part but hey, at least they aren't going backwards.

 

[$ReaPeR$]

Hey, a good deed is a good deed as far as I am concerned. Good on them. They could have just as easily cut hours/wages/jobs in order to save money and no one would have given them flak for it. I doubt the raise part but hey, at least they aren't going backwards.

Not if they want to maintain productivity. BTW it's not a "good deed", it's just rational business strategy.

 

[moproblems99]

Thank you. This is just pr crap.

So I guess by that measure AMD shouldn't have given away $15 million in hardware. Can we give companies credit when they do something decent even if pr/marketing is behind it.

Not if they want to maintain productivity. BTW it's not a "good deed", it's just rational business strategy.

Productivity doesn't != profits necessarily. If lots of people aren't doing Anything because they are at home, not paying them saves far more money.

 

[JcRabbit]

Thank you. This is just pr crap.

Yes, but here is the catch: he didn't HAVE to.

What I see all around is that even big companies that could ride this without much problem are laying-off - and even firing - many of their employees. No loyalty, no 'let's go through this together', whatsoever. So, PR it may be (it is) but the end result is still good and should become an example to others.

 

[$ReaPeR$]

So I guess by that measure AMD shouldn't have given away $15 million in hardware. Can we give companies credit when they do something decent even if pr/marketing is behind it.

You can give them as much credit as you want. That was the point of their decision, "Good pr". At the end of the day companies care for one thing, the bottom line, anything else is irrelevant. If you want to make their marketing job easier to ahead. I won't, I expect them to just do their job and pay their taxes, which they usually don't by using teams of lawyers and legal loopholes.

Yes, but here is the catch: he didn't HAVE to.

What I see all around is that even big companies that could ride this without much problem are laying-off - and even firing - many of their employees. No loyalty, no 'let's go through this together', whatsoever. So, PR it may be (it is) but the end result is still good and should become an example to others.

Yes he did. That is how tech companies keep their people from jumping ship. When those people are good at their job, which Nvidia engineers arguably are, that's a lot for the company. So it's much better to keep them happy and productive.

So I guess by that measure AMD shouldn't have given away $15 million in hardware. Can we give companies credit when they do something decent even if pr/marketing is behind it.



Productivity doesn't != profits necessarily. If lots of people aren't doing Anything because they are at home, not paying them saves far more money.

Right.. it's so difficult for engineers and programmers to work from home..

 

[JcRabbit]

Yes he did. That is how tech companies keep their people from jumping ship. When those people are good at their job, which Nvidia engineers arguably are, that's a lot for the company. So it's much better to keep them happy and productive.

Again, he didn't HAVE to. The same rational can apply to many other tech companies and they are firing people instead, treating them as disposable objects. I never argued that Jensen didn't gain points by doing this, just that it is a good thing for everyone involved: the company and the employees. So, win-win, nothing to criticize here.

 

[Fluffmeister]

In a letter addressed to employees...

FU NVIDIA!

Yeah sucks Nvidia look after their own.

 

[moproblems99]

Right.. it's so difficult for engineers and programmers to work from home..

Yes because all engineers have specialized equipment at their house. Yes, all the company's resources are available to everyone at home. The build servers are totally accessie remotely. The whole operation is totally normal.

Edit: I mean seriously, do you guys wake up in the morning and look for something to be grumpy over or does someone shit in your cereal?

 

[$ReaPeR$]

Yes because all engineers have specialized equipment at their house. Yes, all the company's resources are available to everyone at home. The build servers are totally accessie remotely. The whole operation is totally normal.

Don't worry, they are smart enough to keep things moving.

 

[JcRabbit]

Edit: I mean seriously, do you guys wake up in the morning and look for something to be grumpy over or does someone shit in your cereal?

Ehehe. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[$ReaPeR$]

In a letter addressed to employees...

FU NVIDIA!

Yeah sucks Nvidia look after their own.

And yet here we are commenting on that "personal" letter on a forum..

Saying that they did the logical thing and that thanking them is pointless is not the same with criticizing the company. It's really sad that I have to explain this.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

The question is if the raise will go to all the people working on the production line or just the supervisors and execs who crack the whip while sitting in their nicely furnished offices. Because thats normally how business works. The little guys are expendable

 

[remixedcat]

Good guy Nvidia!!

 

[hat]

So I guess by that measure AMD shouldn't have given away $15 million in hardware. Can we give companies credit when they do something decent even if pr/marketing is behind it.

A small difference: this is Nvidia looking out for Nvidia. What AMD did, while still a good PR move, was actually donate something. Nvidia may or may not have donated stuff, I'm not sure, but these two actions in particular aren't directly comparable.

 

[ZoneDymo]

hmm wonder who is going to pay for that raise that employees will get.....hmmmm yes who indeed.

 

[watzupken]

I think this is a good gesture. Employees should be reassured of their job security during such times, more so than a pay raise. Hopefully Jen will stick to what he said.

 

[medi01]

Demand for PC is expected to raise, not drop, so, uh, "how brave".

 

[Vya Domus]

Demand for PC is expected to raise, not drop, so, uh, "how brave".

It's not just that, most tech companies just haven't been affected by this, the world is run by silicon at every level irrespective of what's going on.

 

[R0H1T]

Well that's naive to think tech sector will go unscathed or relatively unaffected by this pandemic, the surge in demand for services like streaming or "video conferencing" is somewhat temporary. Once this is over or at least the lock-downs end, people will go back to their merry ways & as the crisis unfolds ~ with more people out of jobs, the demand will nosedive across a lot of sectors including tech! Though over the long(er) term tech is a safe bet, although not necessarily tech companies of today.

 

[Fourstaff]

It is nice to work for a profitable company who looks after their own employees, anyone who takes umbrage is likely to be jealous.

 

[Vya Domus]

It is nice to work for a profitable company who looks after their own employees, anyone who takes umbrage is likely to be jealous.

Good old "you're a hater/jealous" if you disagree with something or have a different view ? Not a big fan of this sort of conclusion, though I must say it is usually effective when you don't have anything else left to say.