We Laid Off 50% Of The Company.

[@housecaldwell]

What Doug said" "we're going to wring out every ounce of productivity from this team." What the employees heard: "I laid off half the company and you're going to have to double your work for the same wage."

[@zPyrrhic]

How awful of a speech it was aside, and it was absolutely awful, this should not have been a video. Transparency should not come at the cost of decency.

[@TakeACloserLook96]

What's also awful is that they let go many of their most tenured employees just to save a bit more on salary. Some really important members too: Big Tony confirmed on his Facebook that he was let go after working there for 9 years. He's been with the company a long time and prominently featured in Wyrmlyfe. I also have a sneaking suspicion that no one on the Media team was let go, despite them producing way less Wyrmlyfe videos and with them scaling back on the number of products for sale, they won't need as many product photos / videos.

[@Iwagumi_]

In the end, posting this video doesn’t change much. Over time, future videos will reveal who remains and who doesn’t-this announcement simply accelerated that realization. It’s important to remember that Wyrmwood is a business, and difficult decisions like this are part of running one, even when they affect good people. I’m sure there were valid reasons for these layoffs. While some individuals may have been fan favorites in the videos, other factors likely played a role. Perhaps they needed employees who are strong multitaskers rather than specialists, or maybe certain individuals weren’t meeting the evolving needs of the company. It’s unlikely these decisions were solely about salaries. They’re based on day-to-day realities and challenges that we, as viewers, don’t fully see in 10-20-minute clips. There’s always more to the story than meets the eye. That said, I do feel for those who were let go. I’ve been through something similar, and I know how hard it can be-especially during the holiday season. It can leave you feeling depressed and uncertain about the future. However, I don’t see Wyrmwood not providing severance to help cushion the blow. Even a couple of paychecks could give these individuals the time they need to polish their resumes and secure a new source of employment.

[@johnl7835]

@@TakeACloserLook96 i'm all for #fireBobby

[@bretmkal]

​@TakeACloserLook96 When they approached Bobby on how to price the sit stand desk and his response was "fuck it, as high as possible" and the product was pulled early from Kickstarter should have been a big hint. I really don't get some of his decisions.

[@bryan.conrad]

I learn something every episode, and this episode I learned not to let the quirky founder do the mass layoffs speech. Holy hell dude.

[@john-alotofnumbers]

The profanity honestly didn't help either, the random fucks didn't come off as Doug passionate it came off as he was a wild card running the company

[@brandonmatthews9420]

This is the speech for the people that get to stay. I can’t imagine the layoffs speech was much better.

[@DrigrX]

​@@brandonmatthews9420 I get the feeling they did the utterly terrible manufacturing layoff of walking to someone on the floor and going "come with me" and once it was realized what happened, ever person on the floor worried about if they were next.

[@bradleyhurley6755]

Troy should have been the one to do it. I don't think Doug or Brianna were great. I'm willing to bet at least 50% of the complaints Brianna is going to get is straight up going to be people asking why they have to work harder to cover for people who were let go.

[@winningsince1992]

I learned you love people being fake.

[@BentleyPascoe]

"We're going to wring every last ounce of productivity out of you" - this is not how you inspire people. This is how you lose your best craftsman. I've like WW for some time, and when the dumb gimmick BS came around with themed tables - I spoke about it. This result you could have controlled, but you didn't. One way that you show its not purely the work force being hit is by laying out the direct sacrifices and calls to action in leadership. Leadership will do X, if they cannot, their heads are on the block - not more of the people who make the shop actually run. You are, in the end, selling luxury goods to hobbyists during a massive down turn in the economy. Many are struggling to afford their basic bills, you should have seen this a year ago and began shifting HARD toward more sustainable trends. Now your work force will suffer, their morale is horrid and you just told them "the beatings will continue until morale improves." Take a LONG look at yourself in the mirror tonight, then go back and watch this. Listen to your words, realize the MANY mistakes made in those words and realize where you need to be better.

[@budhoward7449]

100%

[@brochg]

Craftsmen, and customers who are craftspeople.

[@darkcardking]

Like I said elsewhere, that's not telling your employees they are people. That is you saying "You are gears in our machine, now get to grinding."

[@BentleyPascoe]

@darkcardking agreed.

[@lightfighter4evr]

when I heard that line about productivity, I watched the gathered employees to see if anyone walked out. I believe Doug and Bobby forgot their real jobs and started being YT personalities. Obviously Dougie and Bob cannot multitask. There's no way you, Doug, didn't see this coming months ago. Stay in your lane, run the as you should so that your employees are just as successful as you want to be. Doug, Ian, and Ed should all step down and hire out competent leadership. I didn't buy a table due to the 12+ month lead, and now I won't buy one on principle. I hope those who lost their job are able to find steady work quickly.

[@ChucktheQA]

My heart goes out to the 50% that were laid off

[@adambomb2916]

We appreciate it we were all taken off guard

[@nicolasgaultier55]

I unsubscribed maybe we should also have 50% of us leaving to show what we think of this..

[@izegrimcreations]

My heart goes out to the 50% who are still there and have to deal with this mess.

[@amandaluckman4580]

Thank you. This was so cold and heartbreaking. Right before the Holidays. This was a devastating blow. Ouchie

[@JuliusCorvinus]

I think Doug should have had a speech prepared by HR. This improv rambling did not sound coherent at all.

[@DVCBear]

Agree, that was awkward. As a leader you need to show up well in these situations. Hope they make it through this. New products are needed, as I personally don’t have anything reason to buy another table. Quality is good, come up with an innovation that makes me want to upgrade….

[@lirazel6414]

I'm not a big fan of all the f-bombs Doug drops constantly, but it's particularly bad when he's emotional and trying to hide it.

[@adamtomlinson918]

and was super defensive, making jokes feels bad, and the "stat" was neither encouraging, or inspiring.

[@blahjoe100]

The main takeaway of that speech to me was "I had a plan for this year, it didn't work out, and so your former coworkers had to pay the price, but my new plan is going to work!"

[@Dresden76]

Layoffs are never fun. You say goodbye to people you’ve seen every day for sometimes decades. It sucks to execute a layoff and it sucks to be laid off. Neither thing is great. Doug did -ok- but should have kept his language professional, shouldn’t have mentioned the $125M stat and should have said “people that shouldn’t have been laid off were.” That just creates doubt and sets an underlying, “you’re replaceable” tone. I hope Matt’s still there.

[@RottieTheZombie]

Things that were done poorly: Doug taking the role of CMO Choosing to lay off 80 people during the Holiday season, rather than in the spring when people are less stressed mentally and financially. Letting Doug improv the post-layoff speech and talk about how the company was doing millions of dollars in business, and that's why he had to fire half his workers. ... For a man that talked about compassion last episode, there wasn't a lick of it in this one.

[@snethss]

There's isn;t much room for compassion when it comes to the actual process. It needs to be rigid. The compassion is leading up to the event, which I think they made a good effort on that front.

[@whydidyoutubeaddthis]

​@@snethssI'm in a significantly larger company and I disagree.

[@bradleyhurley6755]

To be fair, Doug may not have laid people off during he holiday season. The layoffs were probably at least several weeks ago, if not longer. There was probably 2-3 weeks between the last video and this video. The videos are usually things that happened prior to when it is posted on KZbin. With that said, it would have been a really bad idea to lay people off during the holidays, because that is also the time when they need to increase their stock for Christmas and Black Friday.

[@housecaldwell]

Doug's speech should have (5 points): 1. Taken responsibility. Sure, market factors, whatever is the root cause -- but management should have seen it coming. "This is my fault. This is management's fault. We took yesterday to talk about how we failed and how we could restructure to succeed." 2. Empathized. "This sucks. We all lost friends." 3. Pointed out that management also took a 50% pay cut (just kidding, this didn't happen. Management never suffers) 4. Pointed the way forward -- "this is core WW now. We will be profitable and you will share in the profits" -- if that profit-sharing scheme survived from the last video 5. Invited feedback. "As Briana said, I too will have my door open tomorrow for anyone who wants to talk about it. Going forward, we will be more transparent about how the company is functioning so you won't have to worry about an event like this ever happening again -- because I promise you it won't." And all of that said in 60 seconds.

[@BaneWilliams]

I love that random people on the internet can often do better work than CEOs.

[@brl5755]

to point #3, now the company is more top-heavy than ever before

[@godlessveteran2431]

@@BaneWilliams Better than most CEOs? Maybe not. Better than one that ignores the obvious and his experts on how to handle things? Fuck yes I could.

[@ISavant]

@@BaneWilliams that's because CEOs do fuck all work in the first place. They're deadweight.

[@SimontheDog-v1h]

i dont think i prefer the lying HR answer bud

[@jimjones7980]

Doug took on the job of CMO instead of hiring one because he said "how hard could it be?" Turns out... very hard.

[@distractme]

Yeah but the important thing now is that he's learned his lesson and it will rotating between... him and bobby. oh boy.

[@hjewkes]

I would counter that at most companies a CMO coming in and raising sales 20% in a quarter is usually pretty solid work

[@Leviathan9173]

@@hjewkes that's something people seem to have missed, Doug raised sales on the website by 20%... that is fucking awesome to be honest. But that wasn't good enough for the employee count they were supporting. Ever since the first big MGT kickstarter, they where trying to catch up to that level of demand. The problem is the economy has not gotten better since then... people are not spending money on things they don't need as much as they used to. when your company can make 600k but you are only selling 300k you don't really have a choice other than downsizing. it's the sad truth of it.

[@jeffsolomon6400]

Doug is the same guy you didn't want to hire a actual HR manager and get someone already on staff to do it with no actual HR experience. This guy made Bobby the CMO? The dude you was your social media guy and "accused" of being "creepy" toward women. Not a good look

[@chameleon83]

​@@Leviathan9173then you start from the top. Not the bottom.

[@jll182msstate]

You have an HR person for a reason. Use them. I bet the moral of those people is super low!

[@qwie100]

I’ve survived a few layoffs and this is a terrible “post layoff” talk

[@8BitLife69]

You mean you don't like to hear getting "wrung out" of all your production? That sounds like fun. Working like an asshole for 9 hrs a day? Hard pass. Not when I can make $20 an hour making starbucks coffees.

[@joltman81]

I didn't see Troy in the room, Maybe he was let go as well because he dared to want to treat the laid off employees as humans

[@UnofficialDustyn]

Whoops-a-palooza pizza party next Wyrmlife.

[@darensommers3309]

Troy walks out of the group towards the other side near the end.

[@ThePercOfGaming]

Gotta say I don’t agree with how this was handled (in mass). Also with all due respect to Briana and Doug their speeches didn’t sit well with me from the outside looking in. Much love to all who lost their jobs and for those still employed who lost their colleagues.

[@DangerFieldProd]

To be fair, for Briana, this might have been her first time delivering a speech like this. With Doug, that's a different story.

[@nautica1504]

@@DangerFieldProd She is so fucking annoying

[@Tropicoboy]

Brianna did a fine job for a tought speech dug kinda twisted the knife instead of the meeting being over and getting back to work like it should have been. I guess Doug is a double edges sword. Ian would have been my choice fir the speech

[@housecaldwell]

I think Briana did ok and we didn't hear everything that she said.

[@whydidyoutubeaddthis]

They were not ready for this, and honestly it was super disconnected

[@spencjon4822]

This should have been Doug (and leadership) accepting responsibility while succinctly telling people what happened and why it needed to/why it didn’t happen sooner.

[@Awol991]

@5:40

[@michaelbaker2718]

Yeah, I get that some people don't like the idea of a prepared and rehearsed speech, but this is definitely one of those cases where it should have been done. I agree that they should have been much more direct and explicit about taking responsibility. I think Doug did manage to explain what happened and why, though he did not communicate it very well.

[@ScytheNoire]

@@Awol991 He NEVER took responsibility though. He paused, and then shifted. He never said I F**KED UP. He has never done that ever, and he never will. He follows the Trump model of never admit a mistake, no matter what. Blame anything but the idiot who made the mistake.

[@vualex48]

Based on the last episode, idk if this was discussed offline, but you guys should to assume that the remaining staff will have some turnover based on morale alone - not to mention other factors like the timing, or work friends

[@godlessveteran2431]

Absolutely. If I was working there still after that I'd be actively looking elsewhere. Cutting 50% of your staff shows the company is too unstable to bank on it. Keep working and getting that check while finding something that is more secure is what ever one of the production folks should be doing.

[@scannerbarkly]

It's okay to not record some shit. Jesus.

[@adamtomlinson918]

@scannerbarkly and even after record has been pressed, you don't have to post it, when, upon watching it you say "yikes." just delete it

[@michaelbaker2718]

Yeah, if they wanted to record this the camera should have been on Doug the entire time, not on any of the other employees.

[@ryanbratley6199]

@@michaelbaker2718 Imagine being an employee in that room who is not only looking out at someone making a truly awful speech, but also seeing in your periphery the poor guy having to film them make it.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@ryanbratley6199 Hey, I get it, but at the same time, Wyrmlife is part of their culture. It would be weird if they just suddenly pulled out a camera without normally turning these types of things into videos. Honestly, the speech was horrible, but at the same time, this seemed like it was supposed to be a 'so what now' video, which probably would have been fine if Doug hadn't botched the delivery so badly.

[@ryanbratley6199]

@@michaelbaker2718 They clearly managed to find it within themselves to not film the...other...meeting. They could easily have extended that to this one as well.

[@BigRiigg]

Doug is the reason Wyrmwood was born and he’s gonna be the reason Wyrmwood dies. He is great at a lot of things, but he should have stepped away from management a long time ago. This is 100% on him. Turns out you can’t just vibe your way through being CMO, should have hired one of those professionals whose time you wasted doing interviews just to pick himself for the role. Really sucks to see that the worst of this is on the average workers not the CMO who doesn’t believe in data.

[@michaelbaker2718]

So, to put things into perspective, you can hire in the so-called experts, and they would have been just as disillusioned as he was. I worked for a company that had very predictable revenues, so much so I was able to forecast it within $100k. I mentioned this to the executives of the company and they insisted that we could increase revenues by 50% without changing anything besides more sales activity, despite the fact there was no correlation between sales activity and revenue, though there were other more reliable indicators. Bottom line is, this was a learning experience. I get the feeling that Doug learned his lesson this time. That doesn't mean he's a particularly great speaker or communicator, but I actually felt like his attitude was a bit better in this video than the previous one because he seemed to acknowledge that this was his fault, though not quite as directly as I would have preferred. Should Doug still be leading the company? I don't know, though I can say that simply replacing him may not be the fix you think it would be.

[@housecaldwell]

Ironically the video that got me started watching Wyrmlife was the video where Doug resigned as CEO....

[@ScytheNoire]

He should be doing Wyrmlife and designing products, not managing the business. He SUCKS as a business manager, CEO, CMO, and every other executive role.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@ScytheNoire I actually disagree with you. While Doug is inexperienced as a business manager, he is actually doing better than most. Despite some occasional bad calls, most of them have been reasonable, he seems to look out for his employees as well as the business itself, and is capable of recognizing mistakes and correcting course. Honestly, my greatest criticism is his lack of filter and not caring what other people think. I appreciate the fact that some people are overly sensitive to words, because while they do matter, actions are far more important, and his actions have largely been good from the point of view of leading a business, particularly when you consider he is learning as he goes.

[@joelstuckey3685]

If my boss gave me this speech I’d be out the door

[@matthewcohen6339]

Everyone remaining is realizing how shaky their employment is...any one of them or all of them could be next out the door.

[@chameleon83]

Same

[@Omnickittenful]

I would feel the opposite, instead of your employment being managed every quarter by watching your leadership gather around the lottery machine that is Kickstarter campaigns you have more natural sustainability. You now have data to justify the numbers long term instead of relying on campaigns and hoping Bobby does a good enough job with another marketing push. Those Kickstarters were good to get them where they are today, but could not sustain the org. As bad as this sucks for the people involved it really seems like a do or die kind of stance. This is the same as any other industry that is impacted by mass layoffs. The folks standing dont have to stick around if they dont want to, but a job is a job at the end of the day.

[@dwild92]

​@@OmnickittenfulDo they though? "The core" doesn't understands where this $15m come from. "The core" makes randoms decision, based on feeling, that can affect massively the revenue. "The core" is pushing everything until they got no choice but to lay-off 50% of the workforce. The worst though, is that in the next few years, the production economy will move quite a bit, and "the core" is barely able to manage when it's manageable... I wouldn't be hopeful, but that's just me.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@dwild92 So, first of all, Doug referred to 'the core' as everyone who remained after the layoff, not the leadership team. Second, I think Doug and the rest of the leadership team does know where that $15M is coming from, particularly after this year. Previously, they had no way to accurately project demand because Kickstarter created an unrealistic expectation. After two wildly successful MGT campaigns, they came to believe that the demand was durable, but it was not. When their most recent MGT campaign flopped, they got a reality check. The biggest question is why didn't the course correction occur sooner, though I think they were hoping to find a way to avoid layoffs and once again failed. They made a lot of mistakes, but at the end of the day I think they made the right decision given the current state of their business. Their execution looks like it was messy and could and should have been handled better, but I actually think they are moving in the right direction, even if Doug is a horrible communicator.

[@houndstooth86]

Truly pathetic response. Lack of accountability. Forcing the employees to be on camera during this is on another level of insensitivity. Honestly in shock at how disgusting this is.

[@whydidyoutubeaddthis]

Yeah it's why these things are not done this way. Crazy. During holidaies as well.

[@warped1626]

I’ve been laid off 3 times from factories throughout my career and this was the absolute worst way to do this. That speech was not humanizing, supportive, or accountable. Please let your HR manager handle HR problems. Troy was exactly right and was ignored for something in his expertise. The brand image and company as a whole will suffer from it.

[@michaelbaker2718]

I'm more concerned about employee morale than brand image. I agree, Doug did a horrible job, but I think he still should have given the speech. However, I think he should have had Troy help him write it and read from a script instead of freestyling. Sure, it can have a bit less of an impact, but it shows consideration and that he is taking it seriously, rather than whatever that was.

[@godlessveteran2431]

@@michaelbaker2718 Damn good point about the brand image. They make a quality high end product but I currently would not feel comfortable making the investment due to how they appear very unstable now. Who's to say I'm going to be able to get accessories for my table in a year, or if something turns out wrong, who is going to replace it?

[@chameleon83]

JFC Doug. Learn to read a room. The last thing those people needed or wanted was a speech. Their friends and colleagues lives just got ruined because of your hubris. You admit your theory was wrong but it isn't you that's suffering. It's 50% of a workforce that generated $125M of product for your company and it was for nothing. They've lost their livelihood and the company is still valued in the negative but at least "shareholders" get their cut. At least "the core" isn't losing out. How motivated do you really think those left are going to be to have you extract "every ounce of productivity" aka overwork them when they all know if your next big idea fails it's their jobs on the line? Their talents being exploited but only their livelihoods at risk? Anyone with an ounce of sense will be seeking new employment asap before what happened before and has happened now happens again; Doug gets an idea he has no clue how to execute, Doug makes everyone work at least twice as hard and when if fails, Doug will give another speech without any sense of personal responsibility or even a fucking apology. Think I may be done watching tbh. I've liked seeing the inner workings of a successful Kickstarter business but more and more the grand standing and complete lack of self awareness has been off putting but this latest episode is just sickening.

[@clairefuzipeg1983]

Exactly

[@robertheagy925]

I totally agree, they should just go out of business and ruin everyone, because of feelings.

[@chameleon83]

@@robertheagy925 not just "feelings". Mistakes made by the top that the top aren't willing to pay the price for. Only a sociopath doesn't think feelings matter btw. The feelings of 80 workers vs those of one arrogant CEO who put the company in the position they're now in through his own hubris and mismanagement. Keep simping for CEOs though.

[@robertheagy925]

@ this guy built this company from nothing. And gave people jobs. But you would rather have no jobs then some jobs. Last time I checked our economy has been in the toilet, and these guys have been trying to maintain what they have at great risk to the entire company. Its sucks but you cant run a company with tears in your eyes.

[@DrigrX]

I quit watching during the SA controversy because of the way they were handling things but I rarely unsub from people. Got the notification for this one and had to see what lead to the sudden crash and burn. He says when they began the year, lead times were a year out. So they not only caught up to that entire lead time but also got this far ahead? And at no point, say, 6 months ago, did they go "Oh shit, tables are no longer 12 months out, they aren't even 6 months out anymore, we're way out pacing ourselves!" Like yeah, it's fine to realize you over hired and make a correction, but when you have to cut HALF of your workforce, you made bigger mistakes. Namely, pushing production to unsustainable levels. You don't just accidentally end up at 2 week lead times. They watched the lead times shrinking and saw the incoming work not keeping up, and just let it happen. Worst part is, if they get busy again, good luck hiring people when you so publicly laid off HALF of your work force. Though who knows if their reputation will ever handle being that busy again. Hopefully some of these skilled crafts people behind the product aren't pinned under non-competes and can create some competition in the space.

[@NowWeAreAllGames]

my sympathies to the people who were laid off but at least they don't have to listen to the sound of this guy's voice anymore

[@Carlos-ov3sz]

I didn't hear any compassion.. a big speech about numbers and reasons Doug screwed up, but he doesn't mention how HE is taking accountability. I know this is hard and it sucks, but maybe someone else who can at least convey some compassion should be the one talking to the what's left of the company.

[@ScytheNoire]

Doug is a sociopath.

[@NikkiWraith]

Dude. Look at Bennet. Watch him. He ain't buying none of this. Dave is slightly less pissed. Slightly.

[@Bkfisher79]

is he the one keeps shaking his head no?

[@Shad0wD3v]

What do you think Bennet isn’t buying?

[@ehcmier]

Or he's acknowledging how bad the consequences are, and what led to them.

[@JaySpotTx]

Trust me, he took it hard. A lot of those remaining did. Not a good feeling at all.

[@philliphepfinger415]

They were here at the last layoffs, so they know this is Doug blowing smoke up everyone's ass.

[@dansimmons2095]

"We are going to ring every ounce out of you and it's going to makes your lives better" said nobody telling the truth, ever.

[@apazman123]

I hope they got severance! Right before holidays.

[@davidmuzia814]

The US is interesting as severance isn’t mandatory - it’s up to the discretion of management. Other countries it’s mandatory and actually a much higher bar to let people go.

[@MrGoalie2012]

i would imagine they did

[@darkcardking]

Severance was part of the things that got screwed in Reaganomics.

[@davidmuzia814]

@@MrGoalie2012why would you think they did? In my experience layoffs don’t mean leadership takes a cut.

[@MrGoalie2012]

@@davidmuzia814 Severance is different than pay cuts. Just because there's layoff doesn't mean that people's salary (including the CEOs) just magically changes the same day to reflect that. Da fuq?

[@Linus76]

"I just laid off half the company.....everybody should feel bad for me now."

[@jeffrsnbgh]

Holy shit is Doug awful at talking to the company after bad news. Yes, there should have been much better management in advance of this to avoid the situation entirely...and Doug taking the CMO role was stupid (though I can appreciate why he wanted to do it)... but yelling at your team that they need to step up immediately after they just saw a lot of friends and colleagues get shown the door is about as shitty of a way to handle this as possible.

[@RvBDopp]

I did not see a Big Tony in sight. MASSIVE bummer.

[@McKinzeyMcLaren]

He was part of the lay off

[@DangerFieldProd]

@@McKinzeyMcLaren :(

[@threeseven7894]

No way! That sucks

[@ryansullivan5854]

I thought the same thing.

[@anthonywalker3610]

He's been there for a hecking long time too, damn

[@ChristopherGronlund]

Man, what an enthusiastic looking crew! Ugh...sorry to those who lost their jobs...and sorry to those who kept them.

[@WeekendSurvival]

We keep watching a company hire experts (HR for example) then ignore them. They were hiring a CMO but instead doug said he could do it. They're making the classic founder mistakes on camera. At some point you just need other people involved that aren't nostalgic for when it was 'the core gang' that look at a company as exactly that - a mechanism to make money that pays people. Also you shouldn't have filmed this. All that did was say to the employees you were giving a speech to is that you're doing it for the camera.

[@FifthSurprise]

I wonder if anyone has pointed out how much time and money was spent on searching for a CMO. Because ultimately, it's not just "Doug messed up as CMO, mea culpa", it's "Doug wasted a ton of money, then chose to do it himself, and failed at that too." I could see the argument of "it turns out the CMO's we liked cost too much money". Being a Founder often means you have to wear different hats until you can grow the company to justify the hire. But the start of the search and end of the search probably was less than strategic and more out of frustration. And also, yeah, why film this...and then film yourself showing up in the middle of the announcement, walk across the view of all the staff who are hearing this bad news, and then go and make that particular speech. It's bonkers.

[@WeekendSurvival]

​@@FifthSurprise Their business is targeting 30mil of turnover for the year then a CMO was a no brainer. They NEED outside perspective.

[@JustinShands]

Yeah, let the "core" take solace in the fact that they're the shareholders who are apparently getting 1/3 of the profit... they don't *also* need to be the ones in charge of every C-level position... it's okay to hire outside experts to handle specific roles.

[@zmcelveny]

This is awful. At minimum, you should have blurred everyone’s faces. This should not be a video.

[@peter65zzfdfh]

The only person who did anything wrong was the person giving the speech, no one else who remained or was made redundant is at fault and we shouldn’t stigmatize them. But sure, if employees don’t want to be in a video or have their face blurred they should be given that option, I know some are no longer in videos for that reason.

[@BenRangel]

I don't quite get it. The people who were laid off are not in a video. These are those who got to stay - so their faces will be shown on future videos too

[@thetasworld]

This dude made a lot of mistakes but others paid the price...Great stuff buddy. Guys wake the f up and unionize.

[@HappyHansha]

"I screwed up so you all have to suffer" is always such a great thing to hear from management.

[@HappyHansha]

Also, not one person on that floor believes a single thing about this not happening again or the company ever taking care of them. That trust is GONE.

[@Chuuma]

Imagine if every. single. employee. had walked out right there....

[@hirshel820]

If only it's that easy, people gotta look out for themself first. I hope they can all find a better place soon that will truly appreciate them

[@kenkokoszka1743]

To the remaining workers... UNIONIZE

[@urghablurgha8531]

Knowing Doug and the rest of the managements political leanings, I can't imagine that ever being allowed.

[@chameleon83]

@@urghablurgha8531 then who's left will know where they stand and Doug won't have a business anymore 🤷‍♂️

[@urghablurgha8531]

@@chameleon83 I would hope after seeing half their company and friends fired, the staff already know where they stand.

[@john-alotofnumbers]

@@urghablurgha8531 I doubt their company has the means to fight unionization like other conglomocorps have

[@chameleon83]

@@urghablurgha8531 I meant if management tried to stop them unionising so one man's hubris doesn't destroy more of their lives.

[@amandaluckman4580]

Doug why couldnt you wait until the Spring time :( this absolutely devastated my quality of life :( I really loved this job.

[@natos4unlife]

Probably because he's an incompetent twatwaffle.

[@tomb4628]

As a leader, you need to protect those you lead. Firing half of them because of decisions *you* made and not taking accountability is pisspoor. Unfortunately, it’s a common occurrence with this ceo.

[@Eyrrll]

Dumping 50% at one time is a HUGE psychological hit for those who remain. It’s also going to have a large impact on production, because there is rarely a direct correlation between the number of employees and the amount of product they generate, so they could easily end up very behind on production again. And dumping people before the holidays is just bad form… it happens all the time but it is bad regardless. I just hope they got a decent enough severance package to prop them up until after New Years.

[@godlessveteran2431]

Yeah, 10% is viewed as bad...50% is a company in free fall and desperate.

[@aricrepp3253]

With this speech, I see why the company is failing

[@michaelbaker2718]

The company is not failing. In fact, their restructuring so that production is in line with demand and revenues is the exact opposite of failing. Their only failure was in not identifying that their projections of demand were skewed sooner and not developing contingencies to avoid this inevitability sooner. They made mistakes, but the company seems healthy, particularly given the fact they made a tough call that many businesses fail to make before it's too late.

[@godlessveteran2431]

@@michaelbaker2718 If I thought someone had learned the lesson and was going to actually start listening to their experts and hire the right people, you could be right. I'd argue that 50% reduction in staff in one blow is not a good sign for their health, but that's another matter. But if management isn't learning the lessons and making real changes, then they absolutely are going to fail. Shifting the CMO role over to someone else in the company for a few months isn't the right move. This proved they needed to hire an actual expert in that role. And they're still not doing that. None of management is feeling the pain. They're all still getting their full pay and their share of profits. This is not a good way to go about things at all.

[@alexorhuxley]

A libertarian having a ruinously bad economic thesis? Say it ain't so!

[@jordanrelkey]

Doug! Sounds like a cousin/uncle explaining to the family that he lost everyones money on crypto.

[@MijolnirIsABear]

Doug: "I made a bad decision and hurt the company, so we had to fire many of your compatriots. But don't worry, I made sure that the investors still get their share. Thank you for your work."

[@MrTonydetiger76]

@@MijolnirIsABear - yep shareholders get theirs. Stakeholders get pink slips.

[@bradleyhurley6755]

The worse part of this is the Shareholders are literally Doug, Bobby, Ian, Jason, I think Breanna?, and a few other people I can't remember. The shareholders are the upper management of the company.

[@budhoward7449]

Laying people off right before the holidays is ridiculously shitty.

[@davidmuzia814]

It’s actually pretty common. Don’t make your Christmas sales numbers? That upstaffing you did to meet the Christmas rush isn’t necessary.

[@Gorthaur42]

@@davidmuzia814 You're not wrong, but neither were they. "Pretty common" and "ridiculously shitty" aren't exactly mutually exclusive conditions.

[@ciscoserrano]

It's not uncommon and it is REALLY challenging, I agree. I wouldn't want to be in the boss's position. He had to make some hard choices. It's important to remember that this is not personal and it's about keeping the business afloat. I'm sure they learned some lessons and are less likely to have this happen again.

[@gearsocfenix]

@@davidmuzia814 The people who were laid off were not seasonal help!

[@ThisName1]

There is no good time to get laid off, but I'd rather get laid off before Christmas than after.

[@hadesblackplays]

"We're going to wring every last ounce of productivity out of you" and doug wants people to go to work with a smile in the face? thats the culture you promote? cool. all i heard was "you being laid off is my fault but im not taking the responsibility for it"

[@redilred]

I physically cringed at that line. Brutal.

[@heatholderinc4961]

Knowing who got laid off and seeing who was kept tells me 2 things. You laid off all the people who busted their ass to make a decent hourly pay and this company puts personality over performance

[@stevenshelby9729]

wait so the company intentionally took this video and uploaded it for the world to see? hahahahaha you can't make this shit up.

[@Linus76]

it amazes me every time.

[@Galahax]

This had to be the worst “message to the troops” I have EVER seen.

[@housecaldwell]

I've experienced much worse -- but this was bad.

[@Galahax]

@@housecaldwell ok

[@christophersegura7244]

One half lost their job before Christmas, and the other half are going to get worked into the ground...what a shit show

[@FoxBarrett]

[Everyone hated that]

[@MMKMoore1]

"We're going to wring out every bit of productive capacity we can from this team" = I don't really care about you as people any more, just going to sacrifice you on the altar of "productivity" and "Doug's bad ideas" until next year's layoffs.

[@michaelbaker2718]

Given the context of the previous video, I think what he was trying to say was that they were going to get whatever work comes in done with the team they had and that they had no intention of hiring new employees unless absolutely necessary. That said, Doug is a miserable communicator and botched the delivery spectacularly. He really should have prepared ahead of time. Not a good look, and I completely understand why anyone might interpret what he said that way, but that's inconsistent with what he has said in previous videos, including their plans for profit sharing.

[@atticusosullivan9472]

Absolutely tasteless. I hope nobody else buys your cheaply made overpriced tables.

[@FTRSheppard]

Man I hate this. These guys all have survivor's guilt and have to stand there listening to Doug rant. His decision is to blame for this entire situation. He was wrong and it's the workers who suffered because of it. Have some class man. As a long time watcher I'm angered by this entire fiasco.

[@DangerFieldProd]

Personally, I like the candidness of WyrmLife... but filming this when employees are stewing and hurting is not great. I'd assume Doug and others would be fine with someone speaking up but no one wants to expose their vulnerability for a KZbin show. I honestly thought this episode would just be an episode of mourning and grief, not whatever this was.

[@michaelbaker2718]

Please explain to me how the workers suffered for it? As I see it, those workers had jobs, earned money, learned skills, and gain experience, when the alternative was they would never have had the opportunity. This wasn't a layoff because they were trying to line their pockets with money, this was to course correct to prevent the business from failing. It would have been far worse if they didn't do this as it would have resulting in everyone being without a job within a few months. I agree he made mistakes, but I believe that to be from a lack of experience, not negligence, malfeasance, or incompetence. That is to be expected and it appears that he is learning. I also agree that his communication skills are miserable and he should have prepared a speech to better articulate his thoughts, but otherwise I think they're headed in the right direction. Why does this anger you? You say you are a long time watcher, so you should know Doug's personality. If you're only upset now that this has happened and you weren't sooner because you did not see it coming, then guess what, you are no better than him! Also, being angry about something that literally does not impact you is irrational and just plain dumb. The problem is that you are empathetic to the workers, but you lack the ability to consider the perspective of the employer and what goes into running a business. If you didn't know, it is not easy. I have watched several people with far more business leadership experience than Doug make the same mistakes he made, so how can anyone expect him to do better? Now, if he makes the same mistakes in the future, there'd be reason to be upset, but we will just have to wait and see what happens.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@DangerFieldProd Yeah, if they were going to record and post this they really should have only recorded Doug and not shown any of the employees. Also, Doug is a horrible communicator and really should have prepared his thoughts before hand. I think I understood what he was trying to say, but his delivery was lacking on many points.

[@FTRSheppard]

@michaelbaker2718 He made the decisions and those decisions were bad. Doug should be held accountable and his pay cut not the workers. But clearly with that wall of text you're just a fanboy of his.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@FTRSheppard Honestly I'm not a fan of Doug myself, but you're calling for accountability like he committed a crime when that's not at all what happened here. Also, he's one of the owners of the company, so I'm not sure what you expect for accountability, but you're just irrationally upset over something that really doesn't impact you in any way which makes you sound more like the disillusioned parasocial fanboy.

[@jklinders]

Just exactly who was the intended audience for this? Did a shareholder put a gun against your head and say "show the world what a piece of crap you are"? It's really puzzling. Well, there are other companies run by less sh!tty people. It's a pity that you have no capacity whatsoever to show any empathy for the people that make YOU successful. You are nothing without them and you talked to them like they were children.

[@rachaelmiller6913]

Unsubing and crossing MGT off my dream D&D room list. Layoffs right before the holiday is inexcusable while giving shareholders 1/3 of company profits. This company lost its humanity. But its "core" in group of buddies is still there! Didn't hire professionals in the field to ensure its profitability and like another commenter said the "quirky founder" got the job instead and failed. Resulting in 80+ people losing their jobs. BUT THE CORE group of men are there!!! I once wanted to work at WW. LOL not anymore if this is how they treat people who arent in the CORE

[@whydidyoutubeaddthis]

They tried so hard to pretend they cared

[@sleepyface1367]

To be honest.... you need to sort out international shipping for the rest of the world. people simply don't replace a kitchen table or gaming table in decades. most people who would purchased in the US purchased already. you need a new market. And gosh... worst way to lay-off people. Doug didn't need to go off on his failed plan and explain why and what his goal and plans for the year is. It feels more like a show for wyrmlyfe. 5 minute talk should be enough... they don't need to be there to hear all this, you just told them they might be fired. They're not listening to you they're deep in thoughts on what they should do from now on.

[@Meloncov]

While it'd definitely be a huge boon for them if they could figure out international shipping, it might just be impossible at a reasonable price. Low volume international shipping of heavy objects is expensive.

[@andredias95]

Best way is to sign distributors in the different markets that can handle the shipping and taxes of the goods. That way they can take orders and send it in bulk to a distributionscentral. Like most goods already do for the international market.

[@CheezMonsterCrazy]

The economics of shipping luxury furniture overseas doesn't make a whole lot of sense. More headache than its worth, which is why basically no one does it, save for individual craftspeople making one-off customs. If Wyrmwood did spend all the money required to break into the European market and find a customer base, they'd be quickly swamped by local competitors that could do it cheaper.

[@andredias95]

@CheezMonsterCrazy think the labour costs are way higher in most of Europe compared to the US.

[@godlessveteran2431]

Yup, been saying for years that their bubble is going to burst..they're making a very high end niche product for a small number of people that can afford them in a niche hobby. Now factor in how their product that uses a ton of imported materials is likely going to go up in price even more soon, and well, they're in a bad place. Grew too much too fast without seeing the writing on the walls of what the future held.

[@kinggoya8610]

TL:DR Doug messed up, 50% of WW workforce have been laid off again, and something about pet beds/tables.

[@The_Cost_Of_Living]

Dude just ran a masterclass on how not to talk to his employees. You've let these little videos go to your head. Having the camera walking in with you wtf are you doing dude

[@lockeroftheironsalami6713]

Who from the top end got trimmed ?

[@Adderkleet]

Removing the entire top won't double sales or halve costs.

[@lockeroftheironsalami6713]

@Adderkleet didnt say remove the entire i said who got trimmed

[@chameleon83]

​@@lockeroftheironsalami6713indeed you did but sadly there's always a few that try to strawman in order to defend the indefensible. At the very least Doug should be gone from any decisions that actually affect others.

[@natos4unlife]

​@@Adderkleet it would probably cut a decent chunk of costs. Top end loves to pay themselves far more than they are worth.

[@DrkNinja_]

Doug, I love your kooky takes on things and I love the back and forth you have with the team. Usually you see reason in the end or you provide a reason that you should proceed your way. You messed up this time, Troy was right. You just tanked your own morale of the remaining employees because instead of taking responsibility for your mistake thinking you could take on CMO, and you could predict your business year. You just let half of this company go right before the holidays, and all those people heard was "you don't care about us or what we provide, and we are easily expended long before our executives are willing to take a pay cut." If you guys did take a pay cut, you led with that, you owned up to the fact that this was completely on you, and done this individually instead of a group like this where people felt they could actually ask questions you'd have been far better off. I'm actually ashamed to support this company right now.

[@clairefuzipeg1983]

He said in the previous episode that he wouldn't be reducing any salaries "because that's not protecting the core". His reasoning being that they'd find work elsewhere. As far as I'm concerned, if the top people took a 5% pay cut for the good of the company, the morale of everyone else would be better, and they'd still have lots of money. They could give themselves salary increases in the following years to compensate if the company does well. If any of them care about the company, they'd stay despite the pay cut.

[@DrkNinja_]

@@clairefuzipeg1983 100% agree

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@clairefuzipeg1983 You seem to think that the 'top people' make far more money than they actually do. They said in the previous video that they were bringing in revenue at an annual rate of $15M and that their current labor costs were $170k per week which works out to $8.84M a year, and that doesn't even include the cost of equipment, materials, the building lease, utilities, etc. They said they are targeting net profits on $15M of 10% AFTER the restructure, which would mean $1.5M in profits which they proposed splitting three ways, with one third going to the shareholders, of which there are several, and a third going to the remaining employees as profit share, which would be around $8k per year. The top people taking a 5% pay cut likely wouldn't even pay for a single FTE's annual wage. This is a small manufacturing business, not a multibillion dollar corporation. Their decision was necessary if the company is to survive, and they seem to have done so with sustainability in mind as well as being equitable to the employees that remained. Would you rather they just kept everyone employed for a few more months then everyone would be out of a job? Ideally, they wouldn't have made the mistake of scaling too quickly in the first place, but given their lack of experience that is to be expected.

[@michaelbaker2718]

So, I agree with you that the way Doug delivered his speech was horrible. It looks like their execution of the layoffs, while necessary, was not done well. I also agree with you that he should have more directly taken responsibility for his mistakes, however I think everyone who keeps saying "he should take a pay cut" is out of touch. First of all, it would be symbolic at best, and second is that he is a shareholder/owner, which means that him taking a pay cut just means he'd get it later as a shareholder instead of in his salary. Honestly, I think the approach of avoiding pay cuts entirely is being far more genuine rather than making a hollow gesture. Second, while he made a mistake, it seems to have been out of a lack of experience, not negligence, malfeasance, or incompetence. I have seen business leaders with far more experience than Doug make the same mistakes, so how is it reasonable to expect him to know better? He at least seems to be learning from them and has the long-term interests of the company, including the employees that remain, in mind, which is a good thing. Everyone keeps decrying the layoffs and the timing, when in reality, there is no good time for a layoff. At least doing it before the holidays those who were let go can hopefully make better decisions regarding their spending rather than being blindsided after the holidays. Also, while obviously not ideal, it's not a bad time of year to be able to be home with your family. At the end of the day, they had a job which allowed them to earn money, learn skills, and gain experience which provided a benefit. The only real downside is the immediate loss of their income, however the alternative is that they would have kept their incomes for a few more months, but then everyone would have been without jobs after the company became insolvent. So honestly, which is worse? Do you think Doug should have just gone down with the ship and taken everyone with him? It's a job, they will find another one, just like they found that one. As for being ashamed to support the company, that is rather irrational. It's funny that you are upset about the layoffs, but your reaction is to be ashamed for supporting the company, which is effectively the same as saying "Doug made a mistake, so I think everyone else should lose their jobs too." It's not like Wyrmwood is like Amazon or Walmart, where the employees would likely be better off working somewhere else. They made the difficult decision that they needed to let half of their employees go so that the other half could not only keep their jobs, but that they could earn a good wage at that job. What is so wrong about that?

[@DrkNinja_]

@@michaelbaker2718 I could rebuttal this and have a nice conversation that ultimately may end in both of us agreeing to disagree but... It's the internet I don't trust that you, or others, could be civil about it. The only thing I will say, is gestures aren't hollow if they have a significant meaning to the morale. Taking the paycut across the board at a small percentage of execs, even if it still resulted in layoffs, would show they tried something before hand instead of just immediately going to layoffs. Employees feeling valued is never a hollow gesture.

[@allankelly-watt4633]

Wow, good on you for absolutely destroying any morale that could have been left after the 50% layoff.

[@guardiankrillin]

I have watched WW for quite awhile. I have been through layoff's, they do happen, but accountability for mistakes on upper managements part should be acknowledged. At the beginning of Doug's speech he mentions lead times decreasing significantly. If I were in the room hearing this message, it would sound to me like, "You did your jobs extremely well as a team" However, because we are now too efficent your hard work has caused us to downsize." This is a hard pill to swallow for those being laid off and those that are staying that do have survivors guilt.

[@michaelbaker2718]

I agree with you regarding accountability. What frustrates me the most is that I saw this coming a mile away. That said, I have an education in business and have first hand experience working with executives in small businesses. I've watched this exact same scenario unfold like a slow motion train wreck. That said, the executives, who had far more experience than Doug, made the same mistakes, so I feel like it's unrealistic to expect that Doug wouldn't fall victim to them as well. I think also agree with what you were trying to say regarding his comments, at least in terms of his poor delivery. I do not believe he is a very good communicator and that he should have prepared his remarks ahead of time. As I've seen many of their videos, I think I understood what he was trying to say, but I also agree that even with that content, it could easily be taken the wrong way. It also doesn't look good when he doesn't put in the effort to articulate himself properly. I'm sure he was taking this seriously in his own way, but his lack of preparation doesn't convey that to everyone else.

[@JymmGarner]

8:12 "If we use Kickstarter, we're going to limit the number of backers we allow" -- Don't worry Doug, this video has taken care of that problem. You won't need to worry about having too many people wanting your product.

[@error.418]

Lost my business, and so far everyone I've shown this to as well

[@shodopandan]

"My thesis for the year was a failure...." And half the company got laid off because of it. Bravo, Doug. Incredible speech.

[@danmyers2759]

Annnnd we’d also like to welcome Jason back as the new-old CEO!

[@mr_hyrule9601]

I will never purchase something from this company or anything this guy is involved with again. I am whole heartedly spreading the word to any enthusiast I know to avoid this garbage company at all costs. Thanks for the great design ideas but its a table at the end of the day, not hard to get some wood and make ourselves to avoid giving ANY financial reward to a POS like this dude.

[@whydidyoutubeaddthis]

Yeah same, but hey they already got my money. Table is upstairs

[@JohnnysChingaderas]

Wow i was ready to pull the trigger to buy a table for my wife, but it wouldn’t even help because you laid people off during the holidays, thats a big no no and like people are saying your have HR use them, smfh im going to have to rethink about buying a table now smh

[@Stumpyzz]

I hate how Doug/management isn't saying where the blame goes - to them. Nor does it sound like they're taking responsibility for it. Not once was there mention of leadership pay cuts as a part of reducing losses. I also mostly hold this to Doug, especially at the moment where he got so damn close to actually saying he's to blame, and he completely pivoted after a long pause. The speech felt self-soothing, pivoted multiple times, then had an emotional gut punch at the end. "Lots of people that shouldn't have been laid off got laid off today. Remember that." Not a good look, not good for morale, not good for retention. You even said it Doug - There's competition now. Maybe some of them are hiring.

[@matheww19]

Why is Doug to blame? His marketing strategy didn't net the results he wanted, but it isn't his fault the company isn't consistently operating at $30mil/yr in Revenue. The gaming table market is a niche market. Most of the people who wanted a table got one in the first couple of MGT kickstarters. They could have the most amazing marketing in the world and its not going to drive that volume consistently for a $1,000+ piece of niche furniture. He's 100% making the right call by reducing the workforce to match the demand and growing from there in a more consistent sustainable way. Not relying on Kickstarter peaks and valleys. Not doing this would put the entire company at risk, and jeopardize the other 50% of the employees. Moving into other product lines is 100% the way to go. Its how you are going to get repeat customers. I'm not going to buy another MGT, because I have one. But I may buy a coffee table, a matching bookcase, a desk, more dice towers/trays/etc. Most large consumer-facing companies do this EVERY year. They scale up for peak season, and scale down for slow season. The fact that Doug is trying to think ahead and only have to do this once is a good thing for the job security of the rest of the employees. It absolutely sucks for the people being laid off, but it isn't due to mismanagement or corporate buffoonery. If anything they should have done this 6 months ago.

[@AmstradHero]

@@matheww19 Why is Doug to blame? Gee, I dunno, trade show junkets? Buying hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment that sits unused on their shop floor? Canning product lines? Failing to live up to their craftsman's promise for international backers on THEIR FIRST MGT CAMPAIGN?!? People aren't buying from Wyrmwood because Doug made decisions to try to maximise profits and minimise the care paid towards customers. Him doing that stopped repeat customers, or customers trying to make use of their MGT and their advertisement of being able to buy more accessories or modular components. By screwing customers, all you're doing is screwing your business.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@matheww19 So, I agree with most of your points except Doug was absolutely to blame. The difference between my take and most others here is that while I believe Doug was responsible, I don't think he should be punished for it. He made some bad decisions, but that is to be expected given his relative lack of experience leading a business. He is clearly learning as he goes and doing the best he can. Mistakes are expected. Though it would be nice to see him take ownership of those mistakes, he does seem to be learning and is keeping the long-term health of the company in perspective.

[@michaelbaker2718]

I do agree with you that Doug and the leadership team should take responsibility for their mistakes, however I think you are rather out of touch in thinking that they deserve pay cuts or to be let go themselves. First of all, you seem to think they make far more money than they actually make. It is not as if they are making millions of dollars. You also aren't considering the fact that they own the company, so even if they were to step down, they'd still be shareholders and getting paid. Furthermore, what did they do that deserved punishment, which is what you are really calling for? They made mistakes, sure, but they seemed to be the result of a lack of experience, not negligence, malfeasance, or incompetence. The responsibility that I want to see is for them to acknowledge the specific mistakes they made, and to articulate what they are going to do to ensure they do not repeat them. No excuses, just an honest assessment of what went wrong. I also agree that their execution and in particular, Doug's speech, left plenty of room for improvement. Doug is a horrible communicator and really should have prepared his thoughts. I believe I understood the intent of most of what he was saying, largely due to previous videos, however his delivery was miserable.

[@spilbobaggins]

What a terrible company.

[@krazypinoy6495]

if you ask me looks like the all the bosses need a pay cut till you make profits again

[@budhoward7449]

absolutely. although if you watch the earlier video, it wasn't even a consideration for MGMT to pay the price at all.

[@ThisName1]

I don't think that saving a bit of money on bosses is going to pay for 50% of their workforce. Their not a fortune 500 company where the CEO makes 600 million a year.

[@SigfridSWE]

This take is not an intelligent one.

[@scotrobson]

@@ThisName1 Its less about actual dollars more about optics. Even if it only helps pad the company revenue back into the green, showing that the people that made the decisions that led to this scenario are willing to fall on the sword for their poor choices makes a MASSIVE difference for moral. A leader should never ask of their people something that they themselves aren't willing to do at least the same if not more. The sad truth is too many people are Managers or Task Masters these days leading from the back cracking the whip instead of up in front taking the hits.

[@TangleTrail]

As Doug said "Bitcoin's doing well". Maybe he could sell some of that

[@jehhuty]

Please someone explain to me why tf would they decide to film these last 2 videos and turn it public. I mean, we are 99% common workforce watching your videos. Didn't they think how it would impact us? What a mess

[@JustinShands]

Yeah, I think there's a place for "transparency" where they could have filmed something separate and intentional explaining to the Wyrmlings what happened after the fact, but this is definitely one place we didn't need to capture the sausage getting made for posterity. Imagine being one of the people laid off and seeing that last video where the higher-ups are arguing whether to tell you in one big meeting or not... and that NOBODY in that room seemed to bring up that doing layoffs immediately before Thanksgiving was maybe ignoring some of the "humanity" from the process...

[@GhostFromTheFuture]

WE(?) took this company from 7mio to 25mio... WE being the people who do all the work. But now that WE(?) have only a lead time of 2 weeks thanks to YOU, WE can let YOU go. Bye suckers!

[@theonerod1]

You know a few years back when that pandemic hit and musicians weren't working the Zildjian company never laid off or fired a single person. They kept them all for when things turned better. Honorable. Integrity. Admirable. This was none of that.

[@michaelbaker2718]

So, you need to keep in mind that some businesses cannot do that. Wyrmwood invested millions of dollars into equipment to scale production. Doug's comment about the company having a negative net valuation is a reference to the fact that they are relatively cash poor. Furthermore, in the previous video, they mentioned that their labor costs were half their top line revenue, and that doesn't even include the cost of those machines, the lease, utilities, materials, etc. If they tried to keep everyone, they would not have survived more than a few months before everyone was out of a job. Zildjian evidently had much higher margins and cash reserves. I believe they are also an older and more established company which Wyrmwood is not. I'm not sure why you are projecting your ideal vision of a company on a company you obviously know nothing about.

[@muotes]

This comes off terribly. How tone deaf do you have to be to post this on your own KZbin channel? Maybe can the CEO and spend that money on someone who understands like…basic marketing

[@Korica]

I hope this video stays up so this can all be stored as a case study in how management can really fuck things up.

[@peter65zzfdfh]

It’s the boom bust of a kickstarter product. Especially one with high or impossible international shipping costs. They saturated the market. They could have employed less people and people would be complaining how late their kickstarter was. Regardless, unemployment is very low, every time I’ve been laid off I’ve been re-employed with a pay bump well before severance ran out. It’s not as big of a deal as people think.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@peter65zzfdfh It's not that they saturated the market, it's that the Kickstarter campaigns obfuscated the actual demand. All of the early adopters jumped in, and after lightning struck twice they assumed the demand was durable, which it wasn't. They found that out when their most recent MGT Kickstarter flopped. The problem is that they took too long to react and/or continued to scale even though demand was clearly less than anticipated. I honestly think if they didn't launch the second MGT Kickstarter, they wouldn't have had this problem, but that is easy to say in hindsight. That said, you make a good point regarding unemployment. It is particularly low in the trades, and the woodworking skills they developed at Wyrmwood are sure to help them find a new job.

[@housecaldwell]

I strongly suspect it will disappear as soon as Doug sees the comments.

[@scotrobson]

Love you guys…but that messaging could have been better. Lots of victimhood and failure type language in there not a lot of inspiration or motivation; especially toward the end. I hope the exec team did the right thing and factored pay cuts into the mix, at least for a time, on themselves to try and save as many jobs as they could or at least get the company net positive. Leadership leads from the front. Remember that!

[@chameleon83]

I think you can pretty much guarantee that didn't happen. Otherwise he'd have said.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

I bet those 80 employees could start a MUCH better furniture company. The gaming community will be there to help them.

[@jackmcgeehan328]

Ridiculous, the amount of distrust and resentment that the employees must have within the company now must be sky high

[@plutoswrath]

This should have been 100% handled by someone other than Doug.

[@MrTonydetiger76]

Always sucks that it’s management (Doug) that fucks up, but it’s the line workers that have to suffer for it.

[@michaelbaker2718]

Who is suffering? Having to change jobs is not the end of the world. Also, they learned skills in a trade, which are in high demand right now, so they are likely to find a new job rather quickly. It sounds like you, and many other people need to hear this: "You are not your job!"

[@MrTonydetiger76]

@ - these people didn’t lose their jobs because of a skills issue. They lost their jobs because of poor management decisions. And we can’t tell if anyone in management faced any consequences for their decisions. Yeah. Those folks who were laid off can find other jobs. But it doesn’t change the fact that they were let go for specious reasons, or that someone in Doug’s position should have been let go. Sorry but not sorry. I’m going to side with the front line workers on this one.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@MrTonydetiger76 It's kind of hard to let go the CEO when he's also an owner...

[@MrTonydetiger76]

@ - I know that. I also think he should have had some kind of negative consequence. Doesn’t sit well with me that so many people were fired because he is bad at his job.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@MrTonydetiger76 It's not so much that he is bad at his job as it is he lacks experience. You probably would have made the same mistakes he did if you were in his position. I say that because I've seen people with far more business leadership experience make the same mistakes he did. You say he should have had negative consequences, but what you mean is that he should be punished in an overt way. I'm not much a fan of punishing people for mistakes that aren't made intentionally or out of malice.

[@Erocktastic]

5:32 when Doug goes "My thesis for that was a failure and that is......." it's upsetting he didn't have the heart to tell everyone that was his mistake and take responsibility for it. It comes off as him offloading the problem externally from his choice.

[@tana1234]

I don't think it's necessarily his fault, it's a whole sector issue, and the post covid problem for a lot of companies. During covid sells in a lot of companies like this massively went up, then it died off. There are things they could have done better but this was always going to happen

[@SigfridSWE]

The leaders take most of the risk. Sometimes you lose and learn. Its better to keep the company. The "lineman" just loose a job. Its not compaireble to loosing the company. Shit people are so black and white and full of hate and short sightedness.

[@urghablurgha8531]

If Doug was capable of taking responsibility, he wouldnt be involved in managing the company at all. A majority of bad planning comes from him, and its caused how many layoffs now over the last few years?

[@tana1234]

@urghablurgha8531 show me a medium to large company that had massive growth the contraction that hasn't done exactly the same? Look at all the stockmarket companies. As someone that invests this is normal it isn't nice but its part of doing business unfortunately

[@Meloncov]

@@tana1234 While it's certainly true that other executives made similar mistakes (take a look at the video game industry the last two years...), that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake.

[@skorne741]

Just before Christmas? Wow.

[@darkcardking]

This happened two days before Thanksgiving.

[@ciscoserrano]

Layoffs are incredibly challenging and emotionally taxing, especially when they impact your role personally. However, it’s crucial to remember that businesses are fragile entities, and making decisions that prioritize the company’s well-being can be difficult when real people are affected. I’m relieved that Wyrmwood is committed to staying in business and hope it continues to grow in a controlled and sustainable manner. Posting this was a courageous and authentic act. I genuinely appreciate your honesty and vulnerability.

[@Donotreplytothis]

Yes, this is the best comment I have read.

[@Richard-sy1ej]

@@Donotreplytothis Yeah, it's absolutely hilarious sarcasm.

[@mastercommand1214]

While i know that doug is a major figure head in the company and crucial to its working. I do not believe that he should be speakimg and addressing the company staff about the layoffs. He doesn't have the professional tact that is required to help these remaining people as they go forward. This is going to be difficult and i believe wormwood is going to need to put in a lot of work to bring back trust in the company. Yes people want gaming tables. But people wont want to support a compqny that brutally tears apart its company and community.

[@mastercommand1214]

This is also a problem with making a YT series where they put all these people on camera and "bring the viewer" into the company to see what is getting worked on and enjoy the progress as the company grows. I worry for wormlife going forward. I expect it to be flooded with hate comments.

[@michaelbaker2718]

So I both agree and disagree with you. He absolutely should be addressing the company, but as you said, he lacks the professional tact required to do so. What that means is that Troy should have helped him prepare his remarks and he should have read from a script. It is not ideal, but the employees need to hear it from him. That said, I find the number of people who have 'lost trust' in the company to be absurd and irrational. First of all, the company did not do wrong by their customers. In fact, they didn't do wrong by their employees either. In fact it would have been irresponsible not to have the layoffs. The biggest problem with this video was in Doug's delivery because he is a horrible communicator. That and they really should have only shown Doug in the video, not the other employees. If they didn't do the layoffs, the entire company would have failed within a year, which means everyone would be without a job. Instead, they prioritized creating a sustainable company which would provide a good wage for the people that remained. What about that is bad? Sure, some people lost their job, but it seems like a lot of people need to hear this: "You are not your job!" Just like they found a job at Wyrmwood, they will find another job. At least they earned money, gained experience, and learned some skills while they were working there. There are so many things that Doug and the team could have done better, but given their relative lack of experience, these kinds of mistakes are expected. I'd also like to ask how they tore apart the company and community. They were pretty clear that they wanted to retain what Doug referred to as the 'core' of Wyrmwood, which meant they wanted to keep the things that made the company special, like the culture, through the process. That sounds like trying to keep a company intact, not tearing it apart. As for the community, the community is tearing itself apart, largely due to ignorance and a lack of empathy. Everyone is viewing this from the perspective of an employee, particularly those laid off, which is to be expected given that is the shared experience most people can identify with, however it ignores the big picture. The only people to blame for that are the ignorant fools who misunderstand the situation and can't seem to fathom a different perspective. Lastly, most people don't care about supporting a company, they only care about the product or service they are purchasing. If you don't believe me, then how are companies like Amazon and Walmart still in business?

[@housecaldwell]

I see your point but this wasn't a tiny layoff. If he hadn't shown up as CEO the remaining people would have been wondering where he was and we would be castigating him for not speaking. It's just a shame he didn't prepare something short and sweet and taking responsibility.

[@jsaugustyn]

Doug could have just said, "I was a shit CMO, so we had to fire half the company. My bad." Because that's how the poor people in that room probably heard this. Edit: Wow, this just gets worse. "We're going to wring every ounce of productivity out of you." Meaning we're going to work you to the bone.

[@whydidyoutubeaddthis]

Absolutely insane. I'd be gone right after the holiday. Or hey, quiet quit. What are they gonna do? They already fired half the company lol

[@not-always-alex]

Over the years, I’ve managed to watch every episode published here. In that time, one thing has grown abundantly clear. Doug is not a leader at all, and unfortunately the “core” seems to be too much of a “good ol’ boys club” for anyone to tell him that. The company seems to have lucked into some niche things with MGT and related success around COVID. Every year there seems to be a months-long storyline in these episodes about one (or more) of Doug’s ideas. The end result is almost always the same - that Doug is wrong. Yet he’s never the one held accountable. There’s always others that end up paying the price, be it customers or employees. That “core” really needs to reexamine itself and hold itself accountable because their “leader” keeps damaging the Company and the Brand.

[@davidemerson2915]

Hey, he dresses like a CEO, though!

[@JustinShands]

Yeah, the core should start acting like the "shareholders" they are, and insisting on professional management of the company.

[@The_Tolman]

This might be the nail in the coffin for me. I’m a table, DM screen, and dice tray owner. My trust in Wyrmwood comes from workers craftsmanship. This goes to show how little that craftsmanship matters to management of this company. If Wyrmwood is at Pax unplugged this weekend, I will definitely be skipping their booth.

[@jcadult101]

Give them an earfull

[@michaelbaker2718]

This is a rather irrational take. You say that this shows how little that craftmanship matters to management, however if you watched their previous video you should have a better understanding of the reality of the situation. If they did nothing, then the company would have failed. They could not maintain their headcount so to ensure that those who remained would continue to have good paying jobs they made the decision to layoff half of the workforce, they refused to cut wages to try to save as many as they could, and they even articulated a plan for profit sharing for those employees. That tells me they care a lot about their employees. It is also evident that they are not doing this to line their own pockets either. Honestly, you seem to be far more irrational and out of touch than Wyrmwood's management. Sure, they made mistakes, but they also recognized that and are doing what they can to correct them. There's plenty they could have done better, but given their lack of experience, it is to be expected. As for saying this is the nail in the coffin and supposedly caring about workers' craftmanship, your statement is basically a massive 'screw you' to the employees that remain because you are basically saying you think they should lose their jobs just to spite management.

[@MikeSaltzman]

Very sorry to hear about the layoffs. All the best to the people who were laid off 😥😥

[@kpopythons5159]

My heart breaks for those laid off right before the holidays and for the remaining survivors who had to endure this awful meeting. Management needs to be held accountable! I love wormwoods products but I won’t continue supporting a company that treats its workers so poorly.

[@DHulk69]

Idk about these guys but I just hate being talked at like this for this long by upper management. Like the whole time I feel the vibe of “please shut up so I can leave”

[@jawrambus]

You would have been fired, and not heard the speech....

[@DHulk69]

@ are you my dad?

[@Maturin24]

Doug is spinless, it was his mistakes that led to the situation and he cant even take the responsibility for his actions.

[@showcase0525]

People keep saying this, but both in the leadership meeting, and in this video, he said his idea and thesis failed, which is why this is happening. Are you looking for retributive justice - like a CEO paycut - or are you actually talking about accountability, like saying your planned failed and here are the consequences?

[@starryandmoon]

I feel bad for those trying to keep composure during the too long Doug speech who obviously didn't want to be there and on wyrmlife.

[@probey24]

The glib way he ended the conversation and video was off-putting. The plant manager seemed devoid of feeling or empathy and was almost antagonistic with her attitude.

[@soapboxk2203]

​@@probey24yeah, PM lacks empathy big time. Didn't show much in the prior episode either.

[@younkerscott]

Feels like an annual thing at this point.

[@annafantasia]

For real. I haven't supported them in a while and just stopped back in to be like "wonder if they've changed things and Doug is finally out of there for real"... and then saw.... this.

[@nullzero]

I'm not sure where this 2 week lead time is coming from I've had an order for accessories that I placed immediately after getting my kickstarter 2 table in July that still hasn't been fulfilled. And its not even pieces that wyrmwood makes its silicone trays and coasters.

[@matheww19]

The two week lead time is for tables. Accessories are a different animal. They are lower revenue and lower margin, especially the sub-contracted accessories.

[@nullzero]

@@matheww19 so they're giving people their tables without them?

[@vampirehunter21]

No I've ordered a table in July and I'm still waiting for it. Thoug the ship date was November, but I can now understand why they missed it. I will be calling the company and finding out the status and what this means for the orders.

[@jcadult101]

That was not the pep talk the survivors needed. I bet 1/2 of them just wanted to go out to their car and cry.

[@evlgamr]

that was bad and shouldn't have been filmed. Im among the most pro-capitalism people you'll ever meet but this is not how you handle this situation. At no part in this has Doug taken responsibility for the results of his tunnel vision for MGT progressively killing the company...and its been pretty obvious from the time he said right after the first kickstarter that MGT was going to either make or kill the company the way it was going to end. From the first 1/3 of the profit resulting from cutting costs going to the shareholders to anything he said here. Showing that he was taking SOME kind of personal impact would have gone some ways. Its nice to hear NOW..that youre going to actually develop new products, but it still sounds looking for big ticket items...thats how you got in trouble, not how you became well known and respected. I seriously doubt that MGT is going to stay a stable book either. Briana looks like she doesn't believe anything she's saying, and Im sure a good number of these people will be looking for new jobs as well.

[@Tom_a_youtube_commentor]

MGT didn't kill the company. The company is larger now than before MGT was launched. Doug pulled off a miracle and anyone who can't see that needs to research other companies and see what happened to them after crazy huge kickstarter. You might not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.

[@IcarusGames]

"My Thesis for this year was a failure" But it's half the workforce that pay the price, Doug faces no repercussions, the "inner" circle are fine, and before letting anyone go they were already talking about making sure the shareholders would get their tidy 1/3 profit share under the new structure. . . If the business has been restructured so that there's adequate staffing for $15m of MGT sales, which is what they are getting through the website currently, but Doug wants the plan next year to be to bring on new books of business to expand into new product lines and expand sales that way. . . who is going to make those items? If you're currently staffed to your $15m of MGT at a comfortable level and you've let half your workforce go, where are you getting the labor for all these new product lines? "we're going to wring out every bit of productive capacity we can from this team" 👀

[@tailsseven]

Its his company, what in the world do you expect him to do, grab someone off the floor, hand them the keys and say have wyrmwood goodluck? Dude this comment section reads like a bunch of people who have never walked a day in the real world. This is how a company is run, they are given jobs, this isnt a charity, and there is no expectation that once you have a job it magically exists for ever. Grow up.

[@IcarusGames]

​@@tailsseven maybe instead of taking the reigns as CMO himself he should have hired one of the qualified professionals they interviewed at the start of the year? Maybe the company has just grown beyond what the "inner circle" are capable of managing effectively and they should be looking to bring in qualified people to run some of the high level aspects so they don't keep ending up in situations like this?

[@jawrambus]

​@@IcarusGames He didn't completely fail. Any CMO that brought 20% increase would be considered a success. The CMO issue is not the problem. The issue is that he wanted to scale to completely replace KS as a marketing and revenue tool. And that getting halfway there is a win for the company, but not to the degree that they hoped. They reached their goal of getting of of KS crack. Doug having to let go of a majority of the workforce at the end off the Kickstarter project was always the case if they couldn't increase sales enormously . And desks were a saturated market they failed to get into to the same degree as tables. To have less specialized workforce is how they get the workforce to fulfill future product and orders.

[@michaelbaker2718]

So, first of all, the workers were let go, but how is that 'paying the price?' It sounds like they were fairly compensated while they worked there, learned valuable skills in a trade which are in demand in the current economy, and were at least laid off before the holidays, which as bad as that sounds, allows for better decisions regarding holiday spending and time off while finding a new job with family instead of being blindsided in January. Also, I don't think their comments about 1/3 profit share for shareholders was bad, particularly consider that amounts to a target of $500k split amongst the shareholders with another $500k split amongst the remaining employees, which would be around another $8k for the remaining employees over their base wage. That sounds pretty reasonable. Why should Doug face repercussions? It was clearly a hit to his pride, and based on the comments here, his reputation as well. That said, he is relatively uneducated and inexperienced as a business leader. He's making mistakes, which is to be expected. They do not appear to be made out of negligence, malfeasance, or incompetence, so why do you think he deserves to be punished for it? Doug made it pretty clear in the previous business that he wanted the business and any future growth to be sustainable and he wanted those who remained to be well compensated. Honestly, I believe what he meant by 'wringing every bit of productive capacity" from the team was that he intended to try to fulfill all orders with their smaller team before considering any new hires. Let's admit it though, Doug is a horrible communicator. Honestly, I think the worst thing he did was not allow Troy to help him prepare remarks ahead of time.

[@Hellyardsown]

"WE spent too much money, so half of YOU lose your jobs"

[@adamtomlinson918]

i obviously was not there before Doug walked in, but yikes it didnt feel like this speech was helpful, necessary, or the right thing. Doug reaks of defensiveness instead of compassion and... oof.

[@moDon-n7d]

I don't get it, everyone in the comments thinking companies are communities, NEVER get it twisted. The only people who should love companies are the owners. That's how it goes, the lowest on the ladder gets cut, every time. You can enjoy the content, or the product, but don't make friends with companies, ever. Watch your backs if you aren't at the top.

[@bryan.conrad]

Employment is a business transaction. Sometimes people will forget that fact, but the business never will.

[@ehcmier]

"The only people who should love companies are the owners." That's extremely subjective per type of work.

[@CheezMonsterCrazy]

@@ehcmier If you have a compensation package that also includes equity in the company, or its run by your uncle who is a very cool dude, you may also love the company.

[@michaelbaker2718]

@@bryan.conrad That's exactly how I view it. It isn't personal, or at least it shouldn't be. The employment relationship only exists so long as there is a mutual benefit. Unfortunately, many people get emotionally attached to their jobs, or are fearful of their ability to find another job and then take these things personally.

[@j.e.d.5565]

Best wishes to all those at wyrmwood, past and present hope yall stand the test of time