- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
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And yet
Microsoft-Activision-Blizzard always reminds me of this:
https://www.theonion.com/just-six-corporations-remain-1819564741
Keep in mind that article is from 1998. Prescient as always, the Onion really is America’s Finest News Source™.
Bill Clinton, chief executive of U.S. Government, a division of MCI-WorldCom, praised Monday’s merger as “an excellent move.”’
LMAO
There’s a book called The Media Monopoly that details how media companies have consolidated to just a handful of mega corps and the book had to be republished 5 times since the 80s because every few years the number keeps shrinking dramatically. The author later released a brand new book called The New Media Monopoly which is essentially the 7th edition of the original book and at this point we’re in a fucked up late stage version of the problem he originally detailed.
From the Wiki on the author:
In 2000 Bagdikian stated, “Every edition has been considered by some to be alarmist and every edition ends up being too conservative.” In this latest version, Bagdikian wrote that the number of corporations controlling most of the media decreased to five: Disney, News Corporation, Time Warner, Viacom, and Bertelsmann. He argued, “This gives each of the five corporations and their leaders more communications power than was exercised by any despot or dictatorship in history.”
The Onion is a bit too accurate sometimes.
Then there’s the entire idea of Corporations. They used to be limited to government issued charters. Now they’re independent shield entities for rich people with human rights.
The Onion always tells factual stories. They’re just stories from the future.
This also pretty shitty on account that Kotick initiated loads of layoffs just before acquisition talks were even public. This is usual practice to make the company seem more valuable.
Microsoft reneged on promises it made in court…
If those promises aren’t legally binding, then why take them into account in the first place?
They’re not too happy, and they may even write a strongly worded email expressing their unhappiness.
They didn’t even slam them.
Or even give them a good BLAST.
The FTC Bukkakes Microsoft Over Activision Blizzard layoffs
That’s the kind of click bait we need.
You jest, but the FTC is trying to appeal (undo) the merger in court, and this makes their case a lot stronger: https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-ftc-tries-again-stop-microsofts-already-closed-deal-activision-2023-12-06/
For a 68,000,000,000$ deal, even if this helps the FTC by 1%, that’s a huge risk
You took all that effort to put the zeros and commas in, but put the $ on the wrong side of the number.
Neat.
How dare people write in the spoken order!
Probably European.
What?? On the internet???
Damn, would be crazy if they succeed in undoing the merger. Would be nice to see some consequences for blatantly lying to the court.
No you see it’s OK to lie to the court when you’re rich or a multinational company
Hmm, SCOTUS can see no issue with that argument. Passes historicity test for what the founders intended.
Except it doesn’t but that hasn’t stopped them from making up history in the past, even in the very case they set that test… Blind mice for referees.
I don’t think I’ve seen a game studio acquisition happen without layoffs of some sort. Doesn’t make it right, but it does seem like a horrible routine.
The price tag, followed by a massive round of layoffs is eyebrow-raising.
Stock markets love capex, hates opex.
“Well done, you’ve spent 75 billion to buy market share!!”
“Oh no, you would spend at least 230 million/year for these employees - that just won’t do”.
Nevermind the fact that 1900 roles also buys market share (and you could run 1900 people for 300+ years), but opex is opex and execs are bonused on margins.
For the unaware:
Capex=capital expenditures. These are the one-time purchases, which grow the business.
Opex=operating expenditures. These are the recurring costs of doing business. Payroll, utility payments, rent for office buildings, etc…Basically, the stock market loves it when you buy things. Stock owners see it as growing the company, and therefore growing the value of the stock. But they hate operating expenditures, because those make the company seem less valuable; Buying Activision (capex) is great for stock prices, but paying their employees (opex) isn’t.
This is why big corporate acquisitions are usually immediately followed by huge rounds of layoffs for the acquired company. The new company owns the things, but doesn’t want the opex to show up on the next quarterly expense report. So they’ll usually gut the acquired company. Because they’re usually buying other companies for things like copyrights, patents, trade secrets, etc… If they were interested in the employees at the acquired company, they’d be using recruiting tactics and headhunting, instead of simply buying the entire company.
And the worst part is they will then brag about how low their opex is to the employees that are still there in the quarterly all-hands, as if it isn’t representing how much money they are making but not paying to employees. Well, ok, the worst part is the doing rather than the bragging, but still.
Idk, I’m starting to think that the shamelessness of bragging to your employees that you’re fucking them over is worse. At the very least, the employees should feel insulted that they’re supposed to be excited about it.
I wonder how many even realize that operating profit even is the money they make after paying every single expense including salaries.
Generally, the ones who understand the numbers are making enough that they don’t feel as fucked over. In my experience, anyway
Microsoft has realized it can do absolutely anything and that the government will do absolutely nothing. And what is the point of all of this? A few already, enormously wealthy executives get a few more millions of dollars? Who fucking cares? The real important thing is the people doing the work to create a product that millions of others enjoy. That they have a job and can earn a livelihood. But none of that matters to the psychopaths who run these corporations. Why do we continue to allow this to happen? I don’t know why I even bother writing comments anymore. I’ve depressed myself.
What’s the alternative? Communism? State ownership of the means of production? Those are worse.
Yes, the only options are crony capitalism and communism. Nailed it.
Did not say crony. And yes, there are alternatives like feudalism, you think they worth mentioning? And I specifically mentioned state ownership too, so, you can count socialism (as economic system there too).
Did not say crony
It’s silent, but it’s always there. It’s like the silent q in ‘cat’.
Cqat?
The actual fuck did they think was gonna happen? Literally everyone saw this coming except the FTC somehow I guess.
The FTC knew it was coming, and tried to stop the merger. But they got shot down in the courts, because a judge believed Microsoft was going to be benevolent and not immediately lay off all of the acquired company’s employees.
This is the FTC’s way of publicly slapping the judge.
I’m sure the judge is losing sleep over this…
The FTC argued this would happen, it’s the court that swallowed Microsoft’s tripe. This is the FTC’s “I told you, bro!”
The FTC tried to stop the merger, it’s not their fault. Blame the courts.
