Paizo Restructuring: A Difficult Update About Our Future

[–] Kichae@lemmy.ca 1 points 14 hours ago

Stealing this outright from Reddit. Apologies to u/AAABattery03 (aka Mathfinder on YouTube):

For those unaware: Paizo had a massive restructuring the other day. While the thread yesterday had plenty of good discussion about supporting Paizo, buying their books, etc, what I want to bring attention to is directly helping the ones who got laid off as well.

Many of them have made BlueSky posts discussing their feelings on the matter. Obviously every single one of them is now looking for employment, and some are in need of direct mutual aid. I’ll link the ones I’m aware of here, and catalogue more as I find them. @Mods: I hope you can pin this thread or something to help bring attention to this.

Here’s the first link I could find—this is Shay, a Pathfinder Society developer who will lose that role as of July. The following link can be used to directly support them: https://bsky.app/profile/spellsinsugar.bsky.social/post/3mnuuqoxts22g

This is Lynne, an editor at Paizo, with glowing reviews from plenty of other current and former Paizo employees. You can support her by purchasing from any of the affiliate links in her bio.

Here is Costin, a designer who was part of making the Daredevil and Slayer class playtests. His pinned post has commissions, if any of you wish to “two birds one stone” your next game’s character art and your desire to show support to these folks!

Here are two links where you can donate to help RPG creators in need in general. I cannot guarantee if any of the affected employees are on here, but I’m sure no one has a problem “accidentally” supporting the larger TTRPG creator in general!

https://www.rcrfcharity.org/

https://cerfplus.org/grants/emergency-relief/

If any of you have any relevant information on how to support any of those affected, I’ll edit that information in. Now is the time to try and help these folks who have given us the game we all love!

Just for completeness, Lynne and Shay also have (seemingly abandoned) Mastodon accounts located here: @Lynne_M_Meyer@peoplemaking.games and here: @spellsinsugar@dice.camp. I'm sure it wouldn't suck for them to find kind messages if ever they check those feeds.

[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 36 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

JP Morgan Chase claimed a lien on all products stored in Diamond’s warehouse, including nearly $10 million in Paizo inventory. We cannot currently access this inventory, pending ongoing litigation.

Diamond’s exclusive contract prevented us from immediately moving to a new distributor, even after they stopped selling our books. A judge terminated that contract earlier this year, but Diamond has appealed, delaying resolution.

Let me take a second to say FUCK YOU to Diamond, they were a horrible predatory company.

[–] MouseKeyboard@ttrpg.network 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also fuck JP Morgan for claiming a lien on products that don't even belong to their debtor.

[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I think this is going to upend the gaming industry. Paizo is far from the only publisher affected by this. Some smaller companies used Diamond for all of their warehousing.

JPMorgan Fights Over Millions of Comic Books Locked in a Mississippi Warehouse

Archived to remove paywall

The Diamond drama has been costly for dozens of smaller, independent publishers who have been shut out from their stock since last year. Books and games could be sold to repay creditors if they lose — and JPMorgan is in front of Diamond’s repayment line because of its senior lien.

Vendors succeeded in convincing a judge to pause a sale of the inventory, saying any proceeds would get scooped up by JPMorgan. But the pause has also meant publishers large and small have been cut off from accessing their products. Diamond had more than 120 consignment vendors, including Hellboy publisher Dark Horse Comics and Titan Comics, whose titles include Star Wars and Doctor Who-based comics.

Penguin Random House imprint Boom! Studios said because its goods are being “held hostage” the publisher can’t send rewards to customers that supported one of its Kickstarter campaigns held weeks before Diamond’s bankruptcy. And at least some of the inventory has depreciated during its extended stay in the warehouse, with publishers in December saying some of the stock “loses value each and every day.”

[–] notabot@piefed.social 6 points 2 days ago

In this case, appealing to stop the termination is probably driven by the insolvency process and the practitioners put in place to manage it. The contract will be seen as having potential value to any buyer, so they have to fight to keep it, regardless of the harm it does to the trapoed customers like Paizo.

[–] juergen_hubert@ttrpg.network 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I feel I ought to buy a bunch of Pathfinder/Starfinder stuff in order to support them.

[–] Atlas48@ttrpg.network 1 points 7 hours ago

Only if you have the resources to do so.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 6 points 2 days ago

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.....................

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Employees may volunteer for layoffs; otherwise, the least‑senior employee in each impacted business unit is affected.

This is the dumbest way to choose who is fired. You keep people on based on their skills and value to the business going forward, not how long they've been in the company. It may align with seniority, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor.

[–] Kichae@lemmy.ca 0 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Part of unionization is often rewarding loyalty. Tenure begets benefits. This isn't a bad thing.

The world isn't a meritocracy. Pretending it is does nothing but feed the egos of the sociopaths stepping on our necks.

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 14 hours ago

If it was an actual meritocracy the sociopaths, whose only real skill is manipulation, would not rise to a position where they could step on our necks.

[–] Zagorath@quokk.au 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It sounded to me like that was the system they worked out with the union, not necessarily that it was their first choice.

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe, that's not entirely clear to me. If that's the case then unions work differently than were I live. Here they negotiate what is a valid reason (in general, not on case-by-case situations) for termination, but not how they select the employees to terminate.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago

In America they often push for seniority based pay and layoffs. This is to fight favoritism and ensure that layoffs don't just mean that the highest paid workers lose their jobs. Laid off union employees often have the right to be recalled in order of seniority when a company returns to hiring people

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You keep people on based on their skills and value to the business

Traditional, the least senior member of the team has the least experience and lowest skillset.

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In reality that is not always the case though. I've had senior colleagues close to retirement age that did fuck-all, mostly resisted new ideas just because they liked it the old way, and were just waiting and wasting resources. If you keep these people and fire less senior (not necessarily junior/entry-level) people that were actually contributing, because of tradition, you're terrible at running your business.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In reality that is not always the case though.

Well, when you're CEO at Paizo, you can fire all the folks you think are slacking.

I'm not sure you read the article though, or know why the company's finances have gone sour

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No I read it, and understand the predicament is caused by another company going bankrupt tying part of paizos stock in their warehouse. I still firmly believe firing less senior staff just because of tradition or some misguided honor code or whatever the hell it is, is complete bullshit.

[–] TwiddleTwaddle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago

This would have been previously agreed upon by the union contract, and they also said explicitly that the union would have a period of 20 days between selecting the business units where layoffs will happen and the actual layoffs to negotiate or provide alternatives. Paizo is a pro-union shop generally, and they're telling the union that layoffs are necessary and giving them a chance to make suggestions, while also following the terms of the union contract. Nothing shady about that.

[+] Jarix@lemmy.world -6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Spoken like a true capitalist pig dog

[–] Atlas48@ttrpg.network 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

hm, weird how that's not coming from lemmy.ml

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

It's a quote(or likely I'm misquoting it) from a movie or tv show i never remember the name of. I always liked the phrase.

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

No shitting on less senior staff just because of tradition (I.e. not taking responsibility for who you fire) is just the biggest possible asshole and coward move.

[–] subverted_per@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

My guess is that they talked with their union, and both management and the union agreed that this would be the best, most respectful way to approach the layoffs, and has nothing to do with tradition.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world -3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you aren't firing people because they are incompetent or for very specific reasons relating to that individual, then you are only treating people as cogs in a wheel. The time they spend working for you fucking matters. It's those who have been there the longest that have contributed to you than anyone else. Throwing them away because they are easily replaceable by someone who is new is incredibly inhumane

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Right, and throwing the newest employees, who may be busting their ass off working harder and more for shittier pay, under the bus just because they are the newest in the door is somehow more humane or fair!? No it fucking isn't...

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's not pleasant but it is entirely fair. Last in first out IS fair.

[–] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Hard disagree. a merit-based approach rewarding skill and value, instead of a bullshit crony approach favoring old people just because, is much more fair.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Time is the only true resource we have. We all die. How much of someone's time should be wasted because you find someone better. There's 8 billion people on the planet and new ones born every day.

To only be valued until you find someone "better" is why reasonable societies have said to capital you can't fire people without cause

You call it cronyism which is not applicable to this situation. Or you need to explain how you are using that word. Because that's a term for when someone doesn't have the qualifications or other nominal requirements yet gets rewarded anyway.

In the situation we are discussing your argument is making asserting they can't do the job, when your arguing that new people might be more capable.

Age isn't the issue either. It's tenure at a job. It's unfair to throw someone out after they have been at one location for a long period of time. How cruel is it to force someone to start over after spending significant portions of their life there.

And your argument about merit ignores that we are fallable. There is no objective and definitive methodology of assessing someone's merit. You can come up with a system sure, but that doesn't mean it is perfect or even that great, but you can do it.

And what message does that tell your team? What does that do to moral. Bobs been here for 20 years, but new guy graduated first in his class yesterday so Bobs out cause he wasnt even top 10 in his class of 1000 people. That's rediculous too.

Theres no humanity in that decision only cruelty. Sure it sucks for the new guy to be let go, and they may be amazing, but Bob paid his dues.

And again this is about a situation where everyone would be kept if possible. It's not Bob sucks but he's in the union or we can't prove he's doing something wrong.

PS also keep in mind I am responding you saying seniority the DUMBEST methodology ever for choosing who to let go in a situation where it's deemed necessary to cut people. I'm not saying it's perfect or the best but its absolutely capitalist pig dog mentality to only consider who is going to make you the most money at any given moment.

[–] TwiddleTwaddle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Capitalist pig dog is such a good insult

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Thanks, ifs a quote or misquote but I have no idea where it's from. I quite like it too.

For those who didn't ask for it but might be interested... When saying it the words are slightly clipped when spoken as I remember. So when I hear it in my head or read it out loud it's like; Not staccato, like a score would write, but, a very distant cousin might not entirely inaccurate either.

pathfinder