MARIA: WELCOME BACK, WELL
TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES LAYING OFF
EMPLOYEES LAST MONTH AT THE
HIGHEST RATE SINCE 2020.
NETFLIX, PAYPAL, CARVANA HANDING
OUT 16,000 PINK SLIPS IN THE
MONTH OF MAY, MICROSOFT, SNAP,
INSTACART SLOWING HIRING WHILE
META HAVE FROZEN HIRING.
GEORGE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
BEING HERE.
I WANT TO GET YOUR TAKE ON
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THE
ENVIRONMENT IN TECH AND ALL OF
THE LAYOFFS WITHIN THE SECTOR.
HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THINGS?
>> YEAH, MARIA, I THINK IT’S A
VERY GOOD QUESTION.
IT’S GOOD TO BE HERE AGAIN BY
THE WAY.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING THEY ARE
FEELING EFFECT OF THE
ENVIRONMENT, EXACERBATED THE
WORSE THE TRADING AT RIDICULOUS
EARNINGS RATIO AND EXACERBATED
OVERSTAFFING OF THE COMPANIES, I
THINK IT WAS MARK ANDERSON WHO
SAID THAT TECH COMPANIES ARE
FOUR TIMES OVERSTAFFED RIGHT NOW
AND I THINK THAT THE LAYOFFS
SUCH AS THE BEGINNING.
MARIA: SO ARE THERE AREAS OF
TECH THAT ARE MORE STRAINED THAN
OTHERS OR IS THIS AN OVERALL
CONSERVATIVE APPROACH KNOWING
THAT THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET
WORSE, JAMIE DIMON YESTERDAY AT
THE INVESTOR CONFERENCE SAID
THAT WE ARE EXPECTING AN
ECONOMIC HURRICANE ON THE
HORIZON.
>> YEAH, THEY’VE GOT THE PERFECT
STORM.
INFLATION, RISING RATES AND THE
FED IS TRYING TO COMBAT THE
AGGRESSIVE INFLATION PERIOD
RIGHT NOW AND AS A RESULT, YOU
KNOW, TECH COMPANIES ARE THE
MOST EXPOSED.
I THINK IT’S PROBABLY GOING TO
BE MORE OF AN INDUSTRY WIDE, YOU
KNOW, REPERCUSSION IF I’M HONEST
RATHER THAN JUST ISOLATED
EXAMPLE AND I DO THINK IT’S
GOING TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT
GETS BETTER.
I WOULD BE VERY SURPRISED IF YOU
SEE COMPANIES START HIRING AGAIN
IN THE SHORT-TERM.
SO GEORGE, YOU’RE COMPETING WITH
ALL OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES, YOU HAVE YOUR FREE
SPEECH PLATFORM PARLOR AND THIS
MORNING WE’VE GOT NEWS THAT
SHERYL SANDBERG IS STEPPING DOWN
FROM META, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON
SANDBERG LEAVING META AFTER HER
LEADERSHIP FOR SO LISTENING AND
HOW THE COMPANY MAY BE DIFFERENT
OR -- OR WHAT’S NEXT IN TERMS OF
THE CHANGES AT FACEBOOK?
>> YEAH, I MEAN, I DON’T THINK
SHE’S ONE OF THE LAYOFFS IN THE
TECH SECTOR. I THINK HER DECISION STANDS
I THINK HER DECISION STANDS
ASIDE.
I THINK THAT HER DECISION TO
STEP DOWN IS PROBABLY SENSELESS
IN SOME WAY BECAUSE FACEBOOK IS
FACING UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES
TRYING TO MOVE TO METAVERSE.
MARIA: YEAH.
>> LAY OFF SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES
IN THE SECTOR AND SHE FOUND OUT
THAT THE FUTURE IS BRIGHTER
OUTSIDE OF FACEBOOK ON
REGULATIONS AND SCRUTINY
GLOBALLY.
MARIA: LET ME GET YOUR TAKE ON
THE SUPREME COURT RULING
BLOCKING A TEXAS LAW THAT WOULD
STOP SOCIAL MEDIA FORMS FROM
REMOVING USER POSTS BASED ON
THEIR VIEWS, GEORGE, WHAT DO YOU
MAKE OF IT?
>> SOMETHING WE DON’T SUFFER
FROM AT PARLER WHICH IS NICE TO
BE ABLE TO SAY.
HB20 AS IT WAS, IT’S INTERESTING
THAT JUSTICE ALITO WROTE IN
OPINION THAT REGULATIONS THAT
ARE CURRENTLY GOVERNING BIG TECH
WERE WRITTEN LONG BEFORE THE ERA
OF THE INTERNET AND I THINK THAT
THAT’S A TRUE POINT AND I THINK
THAT THERE’S MUCH OF THE LAW
WHICH GOVERNS BIG TECH WHICH IS
COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE FOR BIG
TECH AND I THINK THIS LAW FROM
THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TRIED TO
COMBAT THAT AND TRIED TO PUT IN
PLACE LEGISLATION WHICH ACTUALLY
ENSHRINING AND A SLOWS PEOPLE TO
SPEAK MORE FREELY.
THAT’S THE IRONY OF THE BILL, THE IRONY THAT PEOPLE CAN SPEAK
THE IRONY THAT PEOPLE CAN SPEAK
MORE FREELY WITH THE LAW BECAUSE
BIG TECH SENSES CONSERVATIVES
AND THE ABILITY OF MANY OF THE
BIG TECH PLATFORMS AND EDITORIAL
THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE
UNDER SECTION 320.
MARIA: THAT’S RIGHT.
>> IN DEFENDING THEMSELVES THEY
ACTUALLY SHOT THEMSELVES IN THE
FOOT WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A
METHODOLOGY AND I THOUGHT IT WAS
DISAPPOINTING.
MARIA: YOU ARE SO RIGHT, GEORGE,
AND YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO
FIGHT THIS CENSORSHIP WITH
PARLOR.
YOU’RE ALSO SKEPTICAL ON THIS
TWITTER DEAL.
LET’S TALK ABOUT ELON MUSK AND
WHETHER OR NOT HE’S GOING TO BE
SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ACQUISITION
OF TWITTER BASED ON THE TERMS
ORIGINALLY REPORTED.
SO IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS
WE LEARNED ABOUT FAKE ACCOUNTS,
ONE THING THAT HE DID WAS REALLY
EXPOSE TWITTER IN TERMS OF ALL
OF THOSE FAKE ACCOUNT.
WAS THAT A MOVE TO GET THE PRICE
DOWN?
HOW DO YOU THINK THIS PLAYS OUT?
>> YEAH, I MEAN, I -- I CHUCKLE
A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WHATEVER
HAPPENS NOW, TWITTER IS A
DAMAGED BRAND.
HE’S PLAYED THIS BRILLIANTLY IN
MANY WAYS AND HATS OFF TO HIM
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF HE STEPS
AWAY FROM THE DEAL NOW, WELL,
EVERYONE KNOW THAT TWITTER HAS
PROBLEM AND IF HE CONTINUES WITH
THE DEAL HE WILL GET A LOWER
PRICE.
IN WHATEVER WAY HE HAS
OUTCHESSED THEM IN THIS GAME.
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT TWITTER HAS
SO MANY BOT ACCOUNTS, YOU HAVE
TO LOOK AT THE FOLLOW ACCOUNTS,
HILLARY CLINTON WITH 34 MILLION
ACCOUNTS, OVER 500 MILLION
RETWEETS, GIVE ME A BREAK.
THIS IS NONSENSE AND TWITTER IS
OVERRUN WITH BOTS AND ELON
EXPOSED THEM FOR THE LIE THEY
ARE.
MARIA: YOU’RE RIGHT, ALL OF THE
HATE ALL OF THE TIME ON TWITTER,
WE SHOULD HAVE REALIZED HOW MANY
FAKE ACCOUNTS THERE WERE.
GEORGE, REAL QUICK BEFORE YOU
GO, HOW IS PARLER DOING?
>> IS DOING GREAT.
WE ARE NOT LAYING OFF WORKERS
AND WE ARE ACTUALLY HIRING RIGHT
NOW.
WE ARE DOING WELL.
MARIA: GEORGE, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR JOINING IN ON ALL OF
THAT.
ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU,