If you'd like to hear further thoughts on this, Vince, aka Pleasant Kenobi, spoke about the layoffs here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/i6OZtI-xfau2qs4.html

@haroldnecmann7040

7 ай бұрын

Hasn't bruh

@brandonjames412

7 ай бұрын

I'm still in the middle of this video, but I actually have an article coming out any day that takes a somewhat deep look at Hasbro operations. The short answer is---the layoffs absolutely suck for WotC and Digital when, if they were a standalone company, they'd obviously be kicking serious butt even in a discretionary spend market that's on a bit of a decline (because it was higher in 2021 than it should have ever been), but that doesn't mean that WotC doesn't have operating redundancies, in terms of employees, and cannot possibly continue to do what they are doing more efficiently and cheaply. I know, it sucks. Hasbro's state of affairs and need to cost cut is not the fault of WotC whatsoever; it's actually not even Chris Cocks' fault as the massacre they took on the Entertainment One investment (in addition to the declines in traditional Consumer Product revenue) weren't his doing or by way of any decision that he made in his tenure as CEO. The sale of Entertainment One is just getting what they can get on a toxic division. Unfortunately, regardless of how well WotC is doing, Hasbro, as a company, needs to try to cut costs...which includes eliminating redundancies even in the WotC wing...which is doing extremely well and, as a standalone company, would have almost no reason to even contemplate laying anyone off.

@Barracius

7 ай бұрын

Wait, Vince has a *KZread CHANNEL?" :)

@thebongmaster

7 ай бұрын

if only Wizzards was able to secede from 'Hasbeen' and thrive unhindered from the rule of a heartless corporate overlord -_-

@brandonjames412

7 ай бұрын

It would certainly be nice, right? WotC, as a standalone entity, is basically taking all broader market discretionary spending trends and giving the market the finger. They're awesome!

No TCC into- No sponsor clip- no outro. This was raw. Thank you, Professor

@davestier6247

7 ай бұрын

Well it would have been pretty tone deaf and crass to pump his own or his sponsor products in relation to a video like this.

Weird that it's never the CEO getting fired despite profits being entirely their responsibility.

@edwinfame4214

7 ай бұрын

He got a 8 million dollar bonus instead.

@edeielia

7 ай бұрын

And these big companies are wanting record profits but don't pay their employees enough money to have disposable income to spend on things.

@billable1861

7 ай бұрын

Did you see his picture in the video? He looks exactly how you’d imagine him: like a complete tool lol

@Whydidyouusemyname

7 ай бұрын

They get rid of CEOs from time to time. The main issue here is that it’s a publicly traded company. Profits matter more than product when Wall Street gets ahold of it.

@fubarmdk

7 ай бұрын

The C level loop: Profits declined. I will lay waste to save the company, bleed it dry and call it a success. Then take action to their next C level position. The trust with the public is in shambles. We must focus on delivering a quality product and undo what the previous C level folks did. And take that action to their next C level position. It's a cycle and in the wayside is all the terrible things they will do to their employees to achieve that goal.

Thank you for kindly mentioning Mr. Iwata. Here in Japan, the idea of laying off workers is so alien to executives here that when my English tutoring school was experiencing a downturn during COVID, the owner of the company sold his house and moved his family into an apartment in the city just to keep things going, which in turn led many of us to start offering "trial" (read: free) lessons to students to encourage more business. When the economy recovered and students started coming back in, instead of taking a huge bonus for himself, he offered to pay for an onsen weekend for each of the English teaching staff that had worked the free lessons. This is why American companies are always in danger of going out of business every few years or even quarters, while in Japan we have a construction company that has been in continuous operation since 578AD, or 5 times as long as the US has even been a country. Loyalty, stability, and yes, a bit of overwork in the interest of keeping the company alive and thriving are ideals that the US seems to have left back in the 1950s.

@rpscorp9457

6 ай бұрын

@@darthkek1953 Thats some admirable dedication. Hope his business recovers!

@natescode

6 ай бұрын

Ah yes a culture that literally works people to death has all the answers.

@yonnfoolery7984

6 ай бұрын

​@@darthkek1953 The point wasn't about Japan's broader economics. The USA has had similar problems - "On February 9, 2009, in warning of the dire consequences facing the US economy after its housing bubble, U.S. President Barack Obama cited the "lost decades" as a prospect the American economy faced. And in 2010, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard warned that the United States was in danger of becoming "enmeshed in a Japanese-style deflationary outcome within the next several years."" That's from the same Wikipedia article that you linked. Yeah I read it. The point is Americans tent twords greed and the Japanese people tend twords supporting each other.

@PoeticMachineDreams

6 ай бұрын

​@@darthkek1953Nonsense. Divides in the US have historical precedent in being manufactured and enforced through extreme, brutal, and self-harming means for the benefit of a small number of people. There had been examples of blended black and native communities that functioned just fine until they were destroyed by expanding colonizers. Communities with shared commerce before developers and politicians ripped into one side of it by building a dangerous highway through it. Communities who's kids swam together for one day too many before white people destroyed their own swimming pools and fled into the sprawl. Any good college experience probably features a pretty culturally diverse group of people helping each other to learn and succeed in developing each other. The idea that differing ethnicities is why people won't support each other is a lie that benefits very few people who profit off it politically and financially. Mutual aid and free food organizations will never discriminate handing out food or resources to someone based on their ethnicity.

@wmpx34

6 ай бұрын

@@darthkek1953exactly

The trouble with the issue brought up at 9:30 is the assumption that the overpaid executives at the top of the organization are going to be here for long term stability. By and far most American executives are here for short term gains, massive bonuses and then a massive severance package when they steer the ship into the rocks.

@AlcasSin

6 ай бұрын

Just like McK and BCG teach

@skullknight630

6 ай бұрын

Mmmh this reminds me of a certain guy named Bobby

Im really glad how the professor is consistently showing worker solidarity

@fragtore6457

7 ай бұрын

The gentleman's stance

@htesrepus1000

7 ай бұрын

Employee owned companies is the only way to go

@Kindlykaiju

7 ай бұрын

Solidarity forever

@gmjjjones

7 ай бұрын

Prof is nothing if not a working class hero

@sashmiel6566

7 ай бұрын

@@htesrepus1000 And who is going to do the firing then?

It's getting so hard to justify buying these products.

@Aguila1138

7 ай бұрын

This is the hardest decision for me.

@SmogHouseTradingCo

7 ай бұрын

That'll keep the jobs

@GR-kt4le

7 ай бұрын

Proxy everything

@sfyoshi99

7 ай бұрын

I stopped a long time ago. Proxies play just the same.

@grayheresy5467

7 ай бұрын

@@SmogHouseTradingCo they are firing them regardless even when they make massive profits so making investors lose money is the best option

I love this quote: "What kind of environment does it create when success both in the products that YOU make and the profits that YOU earn for the company can and will still result in you and your co-workers being fired"

@cass6020

6 ай бұрын

Even at the local level this happens, it happened to me in a way. I was employed by one of the most successful food places in my small city. They'd been wanting to close short term for renovations and seem to care a lot about their staff (first low end job I ever got a bonus at and was allowed to actually use my sick time, stuff like that). The GM apparently had been on the edge about whether to renew the contract bc they wanted to do something else or something, nobody really knew what the deal was but we were hearing whispers about changes. GM started doing worse at their job and decided very last minute they wouldn't renew; fine, that's in their right. But the business didn't have a plan for a new GM even know there was a solid candidate and everyone there was passionate about liking the company, so they closed for those renovations with 2 weeks notice to us, with the plan of being open in 6-9 months. It has been a year and a half, and the GM was heavily incentivized to come back despite initially resisting, to my knowledge. The politics are a lot more well meaning and a lot fewer people, the owner wasn't and never will be taking home billions. It still sucks though, it wasn't a job where everyone just hung out and slacked off, but whatever I guess. I hope the GM is convicted this time, because that other candidate would have still been willing for a lot less money

@LgiovanniF

5 ай бұрын

Corporate executives are almost exclusively douchebag jocks who invented a language to exclude anyone who doesn't participate in their debauchery. They don't care about the product or the employees. They care about their status and getting in and out before anyone notices taking as much money as they can. They never finish out their contracts and wherever they are they are feathering their nest with their next job.

Mass firings are often a sign for past overextension of the business. Too many products, too many releases, ... And of course the bad managers never fire themselves.

@FrarmerFrank

6 ай бұрын

That is the job of the board of directors Investors getting angry in turn could unseat board members or force board to make executive heads roll 🌈⭐

I wish we existed in a culture where corporate leadership would take a pay cut instead of axing the jobs of hundreds of people. Chris should honestly be absolutely ashamed.

@bobross8585

7 ай бұрын

Exactly. It's why everything is so expensive anymore. The big wigs want more money while the cost of production rises.

@NeverDauntedRadioNetwork

7 ай бұрын

Bex, while I appreciate that sentiment, the reality is that no one wants to take a cut in pay, nor should they have to. These are publicly traded businesses, not charities. Business is a cruel taskmaster, and not for the weak willed. Part of the mission of generating revenue is ensuring that overhead doesn't endanger profits. It's cruel and it sucks, but the balance sheet demands it, and frankly its what keeps companies who operate on a thin margin afloat.

@ryanc995

7 ай бұрын

@@NeverDauntedRadioNetwork What a bootlicking thing to say

@ritualmule854

7 ай бұрын

Cringe as fuck, what a shitty way to excuse this behavior instead of holding people to higher standards​@@NeverDauntedRadioNetwork

@flicker1395

7 ай бұрын

I do not buy the idea that “Chris Cocks needed/deserved a nine million dollar bonus” can possibly be reconciled with “We need to cut almost 2000 jobs to keep Hasbro healthy”.

Nintendo might have its problems but the fact that their top brass said lemme not make millions so our employees have a roof over their heads deserves a lot of respect

@toasterfork3769

7 ай бұрын

​@rpgmarshal thanks for your opinion Greg from Japan

@fetzjorgensen601

7 ай бұрын

This should be The Norm. It's sad that we have to celebrate what should be COMMON decency

@amberhernandez

7 ай бұрын

Deserved* a lot of respect. His name was Satoru Iwata, and he's passed. Unfortunately, his ideals seem to have followed, as Nintendo has gotten far worse without him.

@autumnlotus6250

7 ай бұрын

Most Japanese companies also work their employees to death. Literally

@ctg4818

7 ай бұрын

This was 30 years ago.. Nintendo is not like this today.

Thanks for caring about this enough to make this video, you have my complete & utter appreciation in this regard.

I don't always see eye to eye with you Professor, but on this I wholeheartedly agree. Corporate greed will be the downfall of Magic and D&D. And when that time comes, it will be a very sad day indeed.

@SamuraiMotoko

6 ай бұрын

​@@darthkek1953 Disney is not to blame, because even the toys they make, are done on the cheap side, so on the collector side there is no good will either

@mattcrim7714

6 ай бұрын

I don’t think it will Hasbro will probably sell off the assets hopefully to a company that can manage the IP better When they start going under because right now they’re killing their golden goose

This could be the first real sign of the collapse we all knew was coming. The second your staff knows they can still be fired even when doing a good job is the second they start using their efforts to find a better job.

@TeaGarrison

7 ай бұрын

Not only that, but anyone who does stick around is likely less motivated to do their job well.

I applaud the choice to not announce a sponsor for this video. Thank you for making this video

They’ve now made their message clear to the community; Let Them Eat Cardboard. It’s time we, as the community, let the old addage ring true. The Crown slips from heads unworthy

@bestaround3323

6 ай бұрын

Proxy to your hearts content. Not like we have any tournaments you could use those cards in anyway

@bearwynn

6 ай бұрын

except it doesn't, no head is ever worthy of a "crown". to do away with crowns altogether is the only real long term solution

@FrarmerFrank

6 ай бұрын

Always going to some assohole that think they should be in charge,though(and the morons wanting leadership that will follow them) Its why Anarchy is never a long term thing

Shareholder capitalism. Everything has to have infinite growth or they will cut everything to achieve it. It is a real shame how they treat their workers. Thank you for the video and for being open and honest with your opinions and views of what Hasbro is doing to MTG.

@nightrove

6 ай бұрын

This! You are absolutely right and I LOATHE how every company believes they must have said infinite growth and always strive to nickel and dime everyone forever and ever. When will it ever be enough?

@natescode

6 ай бұрын

*corporatism

@crocholiday

6 ай бұрын

Sadly, it's a philosophy held by all corporations that says management has a fiduciary duty to the shareholder above all else. In other words, the only goal of a corporation is to increase stock value / dividends for share holders. Not build a healthy, stable company with quality products. Profits reign king.

@vedounamanicadimasochisti

6 ай бұрын

@@crocholiday This can only work as long as customers are slavish.

@joelanderson4899

6 ай бұрын

finance capitalism, as evolved from the more initiatively understood industrial capitalism

I remember getting laid off back in 2004 or so and reading in the news paper how the ceo failed to meet every single objective he had and as a penalty got the smallest bonus possible which was like 5 mil. I hate all of it.

@Keovar

7 ай бұрын

That's American capitalism.

@azelia2464

7 ай бұрын

Yep. The filthy rich are all scumbags. They benefit while everyone else beneath them suffers.

@Seority

7 ай бұрын

​@@KeovarNah fam

@mantislazuli

7 ай бұрын

@@Keovar That's Capitalism, everywhere.

@korsoredeemed4893

7 ай бұрын

@themadkalimurjiasecularist6683 I mean, capitalism is a broad economic model. This isn't specifically capitalism. This kind of behaviour could occur within other economic systems. The capital owners, land owners or product owners hogging all the wealth is something that has plagued human societies for centuries. I think that is the issue with how a lot of people engage with capitalism and consumerism today, they just say "it's capitalism", but don't push it any further. If you read Marx's Das Kapital, it explores the relationship between labour, capital and capital owners. It isn't just saying "capitalism bad", or "inequality and consumerism is a product of capitalism", is digs deeper into the dynamics of labour, capital and capital owners throughout history, which he also expands on in further works. You could use this understanding for the feudal systems that predated capitalism, and in many ways, you could recognise the ways in which capitalism incorporates elements of the previous feudal systems it arose from. The real thing here is that we live in Democracies, with governments we vote into power, who have the potential to regulate markets to benefit and serve the people, rather than bourgeois or aristocratic interests, at least in theory. The issue isn't so much "capitalism", as it is an "unregulated economic system". Any system that handles power and its distribution, may it be a market, a government, or an individual, if left uncheck will result in rampant inequality. At it's core, this is the issue. Our government give tax cuts to businesses and the wealthy, do not regulate monopolies, and bail out big and inefficient corporations when they fail. Everything now is subscription based and has a rent model. This is not capitalism. Adam Smith and other proponents of capitalism in the past were STRONGLY opposed to rent for example, which was a core component of Feudalism which capitalists wanted to escape. This is why we refer to such practices as technofeudalism. All of this is specifically neoliberal legislation within a capitalist system. To push it further, it isn't even that the market is unregulated, it's that when it is regulated, it is in favor of large corporations and their owners, who use their wealth to corrupt politics and public discours in their favour. It is just feudalism with extra steps, and a fresh coat of paint. Most policies today serve the interests of capital owners, not workers. This is government interference, which libertarians and business owners claim is so bad. But that's the thing, it's all hypocrisy. Apparently government interference when it serves their interests isn't a problem. It is only a problem when it serves the interests of workers. At the end of the day, that is the problem. Workers consuming media produced by capital owners to vote for political parties that serve the class interests of capital owners. These business practices that are plaguing the games and tech industry aren't going to solve themselves magically through customer malcontent or "the free market". If that were the case, Disney, Apple, and the tech & media industry at large wouldn't be making record profits, despite churning out trash products for almost a decade. When companies are so big that they can buy any competitors and become almost pseudo-monopolies, there is no longer anyone to offer alternate services to compete, and there is no incentive to innovate. No one wants to take risks, and you end up with the an endless cycle of meaningless reboots and spinoffs. This is late stage free market capitalism, when left unregalted. All power and wealth concentrates back into the hands of a few, who consolidate generational wealth and influence, and aggrevating existing inequality. It is a revisting of a feudal system, with billionaires as your Kings, your smaller business owners as your aristocracy, and governments serving a role similar to the Church in how it legitimises power and serves as a buffer when dealing with people. It's not 1 to 1 of course. But there are a lot of similarities. Only government regulation can put systems in place to avoid such awful and predatory business practices. And you don't even need to dismantle capitalism to do this. All you need is solid labour laws, unionisation, and for legislators to do their jobs to avoid companies from abusing their workforce. TL;DR while I am not necessarily mega pumped on capitalism, this is a little more complicated than just "capitalism". Blame government and neoliberal policies, not the system. We have never truly been capitalist by the capitalist ideal, much like we will never truly embody any economic model. It is all about the governments and systems we put in place to regulate the distribution of wealth and power, which so far has never favoured workers or the people who actually create value.

I love it when Satoru Iwata's sacrifice is remembered ❤

@cax1175

7 ай бұрын

In his heart, he was a gamer. Rip to the goat.

@devunit2369

7 ай бұрын

If even a single higher up at Hasbro had Iwata’s generosity, even if they only gave up even a quarter of their bonus, hundreds of these jobs would still exists. That is the saddest part of this whole affair.

@Anaklusmos42

7 ай бұрын

@@cax1175 and in his soul, he still was a man.

@WangerZ3291

7 ай бұрын

Iwata deserves all the respect that he does, even in his passing. He cared about his employees and willing to sacrifice his salary to keep them working at nintendo. Chris cocks shouldn't be CEO anymore

@FearOgre

7 ай бұрын

Got to have some good things to balance out the shitty things

Corporate's pay needs to be the lever pulled. I quit playing several years ago because of the greed. I'm so sad at what's happened to Magic.

Almost seems like companies across a range of industries have seen the writing on the wall, and are basically cashing out while they can still pay their executives massive bonuses

I can’t imagine this was an easy video to make. I hate how much the things people enjoy keep getting progressively more terrible. I hope you’re well, Prof. Thanks for being here.

@3nertia

7 ай бұрын

Welcome to capitalism - Profits over People!

@rishnix

7 ай бұрын

@@3nertia Let me guess, you think we should practice communism.

@ZTr00p3r

7 ай бұрын

@@rishnix Why is it every time someone points out how terrible capitalism is there is always a dumb comment like yours saying we should go to communism?

@3nertia

7 ай бұрын

@@rishnix Lemme guess, you're a brainwashed Dunning-Kruger who believes we've already tried that when we actually haven't ...

@3nertia

7 ай бұрын

@@ZTr00p3r More importantly, who told people "communism" is evil? Propaganda is a scarily effective weapon ...

Ty for mentioning Nintendo and when the higher ups their took pay cuts to prevent layoffs. I know they get mentioned a lot when this stuff happens and Japanese companies are run a bit differently but its important to remind people there is another way.

@tenaciousgamer6892

7 ай бұрын

While American companies should be doing this, Japanese work culture suck in a lot of other ways too.

@Gonzakoable

7 ай бұрын

Also, take into account that Nintendo uses a position called "Asistant" that they do treat like hasbro treats the job spots they just fired. I'll edit this comment after once I find the source I learned this from.

@coolyeh1017

7 ай бұрын

Japanese culture has a lot of other problems, though American companies could use a bit of the humility Japanese companies have to an extent. However, Nintendo is a terrible example not because they are abusive or a "black company" but because they are one of the standout companies in Japan. Many employees are very happy working at Nintendo with an employee rating of 4.9+ on Japanese hiring websites. They are also known for enforcing more reasonable hours and having a more horizontal management style that is relatively uncommon among traditional Japanese companies.

@DR3ADER1

7 ай бұрын

Nintendo are also a shitty company who also abuse their employees with long hours and the games they are releasing are also dwindling in quality.

@DR3ADER1

7 ай бұрын

​@@coolyeh1017Those 4.9-star reviews are fake. It's worth pointing out that Japanese companies are incredibly litigious and corrupt thanks to Japan's weak and pathetic Libel laws that make it ILLEGAL to tell the truth about any company. Those high reviews are part of that lie, because Japan's reputation is, just like the economic bubble that sank the shithole in 1991, built on a LIE! Remember, we haven't heard of Toshiba firing anyone despite them getting DELISTED from the Tokyo Stock Exchange after 70+ Years of public listing. So never use Nintendo or ANY Japanese company as a metric here. They're much worse than anything in the US because Japan is not as pro-freedom of speech as the United States.

This is why smaller companies should not sell their souls to bigger companies for bigger money

This is saddening to hear as someone who was also affected by the tech layoffs this year. My heart goes out to them. 😢❤ I feel like unionizing really does need to move within these industries. Also as mentioned to at least reduce bonuses. This sucks 😞

Glad to see big KZreadrs in both D&D and Magic are speaking out about this. An 8 million take home pay with this many layoffs is ridiculous.

@AxsorXI

7 ай бұрын

Too bad he still supports Hasbro which is a bad, greedy, incompetent and awful company. Hasbro is one of the worst entertainment companies ever. That company doesn't deserve support even from fans. That company is the worst.

@Reluxthelegend

7 ай бұрын

Also he owns stocks and his stocks also increased in over 2 million $ in value after this.

@NeroCM

7 ай бұрын

It's how CEOs work in the USA (and most of the first world countries). Those bonuses were probably why the people were fired. CEO and shareholders decided their bonuses weren't big enough this year, so they fired people to be able to take home more money. That's pretty much the only reason they do this.

@mantislazuli

7 ай бұрын

Welcome to Capitalism. As long as Capitalism exists, this bs will continue.

@mgerdes0331

7 ай бұрын

It's literally the point of the layoffs. Clear the books to boost their bonuses.

I think I have an answer, and it's a pretty simple one: Greed. This isn't the first time an event like this has happened, and it won't be the last. Company executives are always finding ways to generate more money for themselves, instead of the company as a whole. This means, like Hasbro, thoughtlessly discarding those that earn them said money, the innovators of the game, those that are passionate about it, those that strive to make MtG and D&D the best they can make it because they simply enjoy it. And now they're all gone for a CEO's avarice. "Health" has nothing to do with it, just the plain and simple greed of people. Thank you for speaking on the topic Prof., and I hope you're doing well.

@xolotltolox7626

7 ай бұрын

It is pretty wrong to blame the CEO. Companies are not people. They are a collective

@j0nasbs

7 ай бұрын

@@xolotltolox7626 The C-suite is trying to keep their jobs. An investment group that owns stake in Hasbro, called Alta Fox Capital, was already pushing for WotC to be spun out as its own company, they failed so far, but if WotC is the only thing propping up Hasbro, that becomes more and more likely, and once it happens, shake ups at the top become almost a guarantee. That's how you get short term decisions like this, desperation, trying to appease shareholders and convince them that you are maximizing their ROI, so they don't start selling and send the company into bankruptcy.

@NotYourAverageNothing

7 ай бұрын

Believe it or not, CEOs are not the ones in charge of a company- they just manage it. The ones in charge are the shareholders and board of directors.

@AbsurdAsparagus

7 ай бұрын

corperate greed is at a high. corporations hold unprecedented political power and they can bribe politicians threw political donations. many industries are reforming monopolies. endless growth demands ever more. you cant just make a profit, you must make even more than before. they have no oversight, and they are not being held accountable.

@emacgggaming9732

7 ай бұрын

@@NotYourAverageNothing so how does that change the message? OP literally said "company executives", which include shareholders and the board of directors. its still greed that is influencing these decisions

Heartfelt thank you! You are the speaker for so many of us whose voices are not heard!

A lot of the board games got a boost from covid lockdowns. These cuts were expected as things returned to normal. Hasboro however has managed to flub even the godsend covid brought them

i will never understand management bonuses in "floundering" companies. I've seen it many times over my work life. I really feel like it is form of legal embezzlement when performance bonuses are given to under performing leaders.

@mattm7798

7 ай бұрын

Even as a conservative capitalist, I agree 100%. If the company has to resort to layoffs, then the execs share a huge part of that and their compensation should be cut accordingly.

@deezboyeed6764

7 ай бұрын

​then your not a conservative capitalist.

@mattm7798

7 ай бұрын

How nice of you to tell me my economic label. I am infact a conservative capitalist. Being a capitalist doesn't mean profit at all costs, and certainly doesn't mean cut workers before reducing exec compensation. Unchecked capitalism is dangerous. I think you are thinking of a hyper capitalist. Perhaps do some research before labeling people :)@@deezboyeed6764

@Dalessandroftw

7 ай бұрын

That is exactly what they are.

@tailong9548

7 ай бұрын

IT IS! Why the hell don't we vote for some legislation to regulate this shit! Imagine if a nation could petition the government to step in and save a company from destroying a historically significant IP from gross financial exploitation. IF these mega-corporations are going to rule over us then the general public should have representation on their boards. These companies' success greatly impacts our daily lives and our national economy. Therefore, they should be more regulated and under federal pressure to stop exploiting successful IPs from gross exploitation. We want to protect children and animals from abuse... Perhaps we should be doing the same with the products we pour our blood, sweat and tears into as well. Just sayin. *mic drop*

I can't imagine what it must be like to succeed in your job and then get punished for it. Hope the people who got laid off find companies who appreciate them.

@tailong9548

7 ай бұрын

You see this EVERYWHERE. A lot of these jobs now covertly begin to pressure and aggravate employees to get them to quit. They either never replace them or hire someone younger and less qualified so they can justify paying them less. It's a perpetual state of growth through negation. Both in quality personnel and in quality materials. All whilst raising the MSRP. Final result = more profits through gross exploitation and lesser quality products for the consumer. Proper legislation could fix this but no one is interested.

@maxsayo

7 ай бұрын

And many of those huge businesses wonder why there isn't any company loyalty from their employees,

@OverlyCriticalAnime

7 ай бұрын

I can't think of a company that cares about their employees.

@KLang509

7 ай бұрын

I’ve actually worked at a company like that and it is legitimately one of the worst feelings in the world. It makes you want to give up everything, have a crisis of life, “what am I doing with my life” type of thoughts. I feel for them.

@ottoawqatty6210

7 ай бұрын

They exist, just not in the Fortune 500s@@OverlyCriticalAnime

On the D&D side this comes months before the 50th anniversary rule set is scheduled to come out. I was skeptical beforehand, but losing so many public facing positions and art positions this soon can only mean WotC wants to double down on their vtt.

@corvus1970

6 ай бұрын

Agreed. They already got the work they wanted out of those creatives, so they had no compunction about firing them.

@briangronberg6507

6 ай бұрын

@@corvus1970, sadly yes.

Rather than boycotting the company, I wish we could find a way to directly remove the money from the executives' bank accounts.

And thank you for saying “fired” at certain points. Companies love the “laid off” or “let go” lingo. It’s so much softer than fired. Which is the right word. Hasbro was bad news the day in the late 90s when we heard it was getting purchased. Blah

@DR3ADER1

7 ай бұрын

That's because if you use such words, more people will pull out and you'll lose even MORE money, which leads to MORE firings.

@dylanv.4970

7 ай бұрын

Laid off is a tidy way for companies to get around firing people without cause because that's thankfully illegal in some states at least. But all they have to do is change the wording and "bam" it's totally legal

@MrGoldfish8

7 ай бұрын

​@@DR3ADER1They're not firing people because of a lack of money. They have absurd amounts of money.

@Morphling92

7 ай бұрын

@@DR3ADER1 what? So if they’re honest that’ll cause more harm? Maybe don’t do the harmful thing in the first place then….

@gragrim

7 ай бұрын

'Fired' puts the blame on the employee doing something wrong.. 'laid off' means they can no longer afford to employ you... it is better to be laid off than fired even though the outcome is the same (loss of employment) but it looks better on your resume as well as being eligible for receiving unemployment

Man this is such a gut punch, considering how many of those staff may consider working for WotC to be a dream job. A milestone in their life to work for a company they have been enjoying the products of for years. We will be seeing the ripples of this for the coming years

@AxsorXI

7 ай бұрын

Hasbro is a bad, greedy, incompetent and awful company. Hasbro is one of the worst entertainment companies ever. That company doesn't deserve support even from fans. That company is the worst.

@casteanpreswyn7528

7 ай бұрын

​@@AxsorXIsaying Hasbro is "the worst" is a gross overstatement. Especially when Nestle and Qualcomm exist. Yes, Hasbro is greedy and awful, but to this day they haven't forced their workers into s*icide and don't use slave labor(as far as we know) and they don't intentionally kill people...yet.

@maxamaxa194

7 ай бұрын

My SO worked for WotC for 5 years... They pay well below everyone else for the same work because theres the "cool" factor of working for WotC. It wasnt like that before hasbro took over. It got exponentially worse when Chris Cox took over. The rumor in the company right now is that theyre going to replace all these employees with min wage temp workers, and the artists with AI gen art.

@MaximumImpactGames

7 ай бұрын

This mentality is literally why WOTC is able to discard people so easily by the way.

@channeling764

5 ай бұрын

@@casteanpreswyn7528sometimes firing someone pushes them to the edges of s*icide. I’ve seen people end their lives for losing a job.

I drop in and out of this channel and just noticed you have the Deathgate Cycle on your bookshelf. Very nice.

First the OGL debacle, now this. Times like these are good to remember to support your LGS and trusted third-party sellers. Not big box retail and not H/WotC. Happy holidays, Prof, et al. Thoughts be with those affected by this and hopefully they can find some joy the season and have a brighter 2024.

Some of the best career advice I was ever given when working at a publicly traded company where I cared passionately about the product: "You owe to yourself to understand that you're in a mutually exploitative relationship with a corporation" Jobs don't get cut because CEOs are making too much money. Jobs get cut so that CEOs can make more money. If they can show profit and growth they get bigger bonuses from the shareholders. One way to make profit is to sell more, the other way is to cut costs. Employees are a huge cost, not just salary but benefits, equipment, insurance. Cutting jobs makes CEOs wealthier. That's the incentive structure we live under.

@brennanlable

7 ай бұрын

its also not mutual. you can best believe they are exploiting you more than you are exploiting them if at all. you wouldn't be hired at all if what you were doing was losing them money or only breaking even. goes for every job

@ErmacFellwalker

7 ай бұрын

You're correct, employees are the biggest expensive a company will have. However, without them, a company doesn't exist. You think a company would fold overnight if the CEO post was vacant? Hardly. See if you get the same outcome if you remove the workforce...

@MentalSurvival

7 ай бұрын

This has been the strategy since the 80s. It has been working for decades and that's why they keep doing it.

@thebackwoodsgeek5115

7 ай бұрын

@@ErmacFellwalkerthe inconvenient truth is that workers are by far the more expendable. Especially now where we are increasingly close to automation and AI being able to take over most jobs. You’ll have AI generated art on cards soon enough.

@tanner1548

7 ай бұрын

I'm not really in the thick of this stuff myself, but it seems like the imbalance of power between C-suite folks and people actually producing the company's product is best solved by unionizing. Trouble is that individual workers are kinda at the mercy of these corporations (and their investors) till the workers unite.

Practices like this make me want to resort to proxy buying or doing more homebrew-based dnd content. Seeing this happen is gut wrenching for any fan that has spent years of their life playing these games and making all those memories.

@gemmafire8628

7 ай бұрын

Might be time to look into other TTRPG systems altogether. Between the OGL and now this, I’m losing hope in WOTC

@Ujabuja

7 ай бұрын

you mean Hasbro@@gemmafire8628

@zealouslyonpsychedelics

7 ай бұрын

@@gemmafire8628Try blades in the dark for a great TTRPG or pathfinder 2e for a fun combat sim

@elijahwalker323

7 ай бұрын

Same, but the problem is it will just lead to more job cuts, You know Chris won't except taking less than 10M next year.

@Doomed_Traveler

7 ай бұрын

@@elijahwalker323 And what do you think will happen if you keep buying exactly?

You have almost a million subscribers good sir, congratulations! IMHO you deserve the world, I hope your base continues to grow and you achieve your goals! Be well good sir, be well.

I sit in a nexus of nerdom where 2 of the games that I love have experienced layoffs/fireings WotC and Bungie, I love both of these companies and the games that they make. My heart goes out to all of the employees that were let go, especially this close to the holidays. Prof, thank you for speaking about this as this just sucks, however more people do need to know, so again I say thank you.

I worked at another game company and our studio was profitable and had been for the entire time I worked there, but earlier this year I was laid off for pretty much the same reasons while our CEO/CFO/COO/etc. got enough in bonuses they we all could have kept our jobs for a couple of years. And the worst part is that in a few years when the companies finally experience the consequences of firing all the people that actually make the companies money these executive will get even bigger bonuses for having destroyed the company and quitting :(

@captiannemo1587

7 ай бұрын

Yep, such is the shitty shitty situation.

Prof is such a good voice in this community.

@AxsorXI

7 ай бұрын

Too bad he still supports Hasbro which is a bad, greedy, incompetent and awful company. Hasbro is one of the worst entertainment companies ever.

@grasshopper1153

7 ай бұрын

Not really. He leans way too much to the Left for my personal taste.

@tyler9123

7 ай бұрын

@@grasshopper1153 so him being left is bad for the community? As in, his political opinions makes the game and the community worse?

@tyler9123

7 ай бұрын

@@AxsorXI what the fuck are you on about. Did you listen to the whole video? What makes you think he supports the actions of Hasbro?

@KayAndSkittles

7 ай бұрын

@@grasshopper1153 Maybe you're just wrong homie.

I have two business degrees and how the public and companies view profits is appalling. Its unsustainable and has been a problem for 20 years.

This will be a massive benefit for the ttrpg community in the next couple years

They must be doing “balanced layoffs” so it’s “fair” company-wide. They must be getting pressure from their shareholders to raise profits; the fastest way to change your numbers on paper (short term) is mass layoffs. Corporate gouls strike again! Just because someone is a CEO doesn’t mean they are intelligent, in most cases it just means they are aggressive. My heart goes out to the employees, hopefully they are re-hired at the beginning of the year if they even want to be.

@dhamp_

7 ай бұрын

Its not even necessarily a matter of "fairness", but one of neccessity. If all the cuts were to come out of the low performing parts of the business, those elements could be cut beyond their ability to actually run - at which point its better to just fold the whole area, resulting in far more layoffs.

@gmjjjones

7 ай бұрын

Seems fair that the people who put no effort into product development should cut their bonuses before firing people who generate those profits

@NeverDauntedRadioNetwork

7 ай бұрын

And that's the exact answer that eluded the Prof.

@f.g.5967

7 ай бұрын

What an appropriate name for a CEO, Mr COCKS

@billyed

7 ай бұрын

protip: nobody in the real world cares about being fair. Especially not in business. Hasbro didn't fire people from WOTC last week. The internet likes to flip out about... hallucinatory things. 1100 people weren't "just" laid off by Hasbro either, the cuts were announced, it's not clear who is cut yet. Videos like this would be warranted if there was ANY confirmation people from Wizards were fired... but there's not.. any... because it didn't happen.. yet.. or it might not happen. You don't know. How many minutes can one eke out of a sentence or two in a press release? This is a bad video. Having an MBA is annoying because it's not some kind of special knowledge, most people just don't grasp how business works. edit: I really think whoever is in charge of Wizards' insanely fast paced release schedule needs to be fired though; in a couple more crossovers they'll have flooded the market with lego batman commander decks or whatever

I feel like I've never heard Prof sound so disappointed, even with the 30th anniversary video he did not sound THIS disappointed On one hand, I am glad that this wasn't directed at some new even worse decision in MTG On the other hand, it is even more disheartening that something like this is common practice and somehow legal

@AxsorXI

7 ай бұрын

Screw Hasbro! Don't support that awful company.

@adamxue6096

7 ай бұрын

@@AxsorXI They hold quite a few of my fav franchises hostage and I hate them for it

@thedoctor1471

7 ай бұрын

I guess the main difference was that 30th product was still just that, a product. I guess Prof would have a big facepalm if the next Universe Beyond was "Mtg X the Expendables", but it would only ever be a product. Right now, it's a societal issue and a human crisis. People being laid off, once again, in the middle of an economic crisis, right before holidays, by a shit-eating-grin-wearing fuck-face that took a bonus equivalent to years of salary for said people is absolutely unbearable. But hey, for a brief moment in time, we created record value for the share holders I guess.

I lost my job yesterday. I was told it was budget concerns. I make living wage for my area. It wasn't planned and there was no reason. Just... gone.

11:10 common misconception. Nintendo can brag about not laying off employees because many of their workers are contractors that get let go at a moment's notice.

It’s almost like companies don’t understand that just not making a loss IS success.

@DanielDCotta

7 ай бұрын

If they cut costs and people still keep buying, then they made a smart decision. So stop buying to not let them be right.

@hititwithit

7 ай бұрын

​@@ShannonBarber78It seems you haven't heard of Hollywood accounting.

@MB-lu6fs

7 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, that's not how it works in the corporate world.

@Griswold7Slicer

7 ай бұрын

@@ShannonBarber78Preach. The Financing/stock market side of Hollywood & the gaming industry has eroded their own artistic integrity. Movies have to be super safe, and low risk to meet shareholder needs and cover financing costs.

@Griswold7Slicer

7 ай бұрын

@@hititwithitHollywood accounting only increases a parent companies operating profit by reducing its tax burden, but movies have to first net a profit to benefit from this, and their returns on each movie get divided by how many years it took to make and release it.

The crossover lady got fired? Not even the business ghouls are safe from the business ghouls. Seriously though, this situation is awful.

@thomaswhite3059

7 ай бұрын

There is no honor among thieves. And capitalists are the biggest thieves around!

you are well spoken. just picked up magic this year after 10 years because i forgot about them in my parents closet. the 30th anniversary came out and i was like that's cool I'll buy a box. complete scam ahaha anyways i still play with my old cards

I stopped looking at news in 2020 because it was constantly about Covid and it was really getting to me. I finally came back to looking at news today and this was the first thing I saw, kind of a bummer, questioning my decision

I did not know that pushing through Magic 30 would lead to a million bonus because clearly that was a brilliant success...

@yurisei6732

7 ай бұрын

Magic 30 must have had a profit margin per box of something like 10,000%, you really don't need to sell many of those at all for it to be worth the effort.

@syndicate5357

7 ай бұрын

​@@yurisei6732 add in the lawsuits being threatened by artists and their estates over using their art without agreeing on royalties etc... I'd say they may lose a bit

@MatthewOstergren

7 ай бұрын

​@@yurisei6732if they really undersold, I could imagine overhead costs from stuff like commissioning art and marketing eating into the profit margin a fair bit, but I still think you are correct.

And that last statement of “This sucks” is how so many of us feel knowing we can’t stop this train from heading off the rails.

@treydinoto4624

7 ай бұрын

I mean, you can. Don't buy WotC. Don't post about it, don't get hyped or share your hype. Don't even watch gameplay or reviews. Your engagement is a vote

@krimhorn

7 ай бұрын

@@treydinoto4624 Turning the WotC business unit into a failure won't help anybody there now or in the future either. The correct answer is to vote pro-worker and pro-union into government and get those who prop up the worst excesses of capitalism and rent-seeking out of government.

@slayerofthebuzz1

7 ай бұрын

​@@treydinoto4624I think OP is talking a little bigger than just WotC. . .

@Necroskull388

7 ай бұрын

@@treydinoto4624 None of that is effective, though. The only way that consumer backlash makes a difference is when it is widespread and directly tied to the quality of the product -- ideological boycotts have never made any real difference. It's an ineffective form of activism that puts the onus on the consumer rather than on the system -- much like how oil barons put the onus on consumers to recycle and reduce their carbon footprint. And putting the onus on consumers never works -- consumers don't organize, they don't speak with a unified voice. What IS effective is unions (which has to be done by the WotC employees unfortunately) and force. Make this shit illegal. If a company tries this, the perpetrators get prison time. Write your representatives, sign up with a canvassing org, and get laws passed. Hell, if you just want to focus on helping other people unionize their workplaces, join the IWW -- they do good work providing free guidance on unionization for any workers that call them.

@bobwilson679

7 ай бұрын

@@treydinoto4624 We love Magic: The Gathering though. Many of us get very excited for every new set, prerelease events are the highlight of our months. Just because WOTC and Hasbro have made awful decisions does not mean the solution is to stop supporting the business. All of us want to continue to see Magic thrive as a game, and for sets to continue to be released. If we do not buy their products, that won't make WOTC and Hasbro fix their behavior, it will only cause them to stop investing into MTG entirely. MTG CANNOT be allowed to die as a game. I don't know what the solution is, but boycotting MTG is not it.

I sold all of my recent collection and bought two Nikon Z8 cameras. I’m over it. Played since 94. Thanks for all the memories.

This situation is heartbreaking. This video made my eyes water with truth.

one of the worrying signs is how many of these layoffs seem to be in WotC's art department- leaving a strong implication that they may rely heavily on AI art for future product releases

@Timmeh7o7

7 ай бұрын

They already put out ads for hiring people experienced with Photoshop and retouching images for "art direction" i.e. fixing AI artifacts

@LidoBombs2

7 ай бұрын

wow.!! it will become a watered down ., no thought , game

@seigescandees

7 ай бұрын

I think you're onto something. How terrible!!

@probably-aquarion

7 ай бұрын

D&D is safe from this for now - they've recently put out a public policy saying they won't - but nothing from Magic.

@JesseScottDotCom

7 ай бұрын

They put a post up on DDB saying that the art will always be human made...

My cousin was working at WotC and doing a good job. She was fired soon after she announced she got pregnant. I think that was in 2018.

@EattheCommies

7 ай бұрын

In communism, you're not allowed an unapproved family.

Your a good person,we need more people like you who care about others and are truly concerned for other people and you can see it in your attitude and the way you talk about it.and hopefully those who were fired find true happiness and let this be a lesson for the ones still working

Hasbro: (makes almost 4 BILLION dollars in PROFIT) "we need to get a healthier foundation for the company going forward." This is a great example for why growth-based models for success are so damaging.

damn! I'm not even a Magic fan and I'm feeling like taking a pitchfork. What a passionate speech!

@DreadedEnding

7 ай бұрын

How on earth did you end up watching this video then?

@leadpaintchips9461

7 ай бұрын

@@DreadedEnding The algorithm being The Algorithm.

@Stukas1909

7 ай бұрын

Same here

@salasart

7 ай бұрын

@@DreadedEnding because I do follow news about wizards of the coast(/Hasbro) and D&D, because I'm an illustrator doing the art for Pathfinder (for Paizo). Therefore I care about the news on the TTRPG field, and the people working on it, and even if I haven't played Magic yet, I would love to learn :). It also makes me sad to see people loose their jobs, It would break my heart to be in a similar position.

These layoffs sure are a slap in the face for everyone affected especially when those at the top are taking home such insane amounts of money. I'm happy you brought up how Satoru Iwata handled a situation where cuts had to be made; it's an excellent example of what should have been done if the situation was truly so dire that cuts had to be made right before Christmas.

@ActionMan153

7 ай бұрын

But that is the selflessness of the culture, it seems the American way is all for me.

@Khronogi

7 ай бұрын

​​@@ActionMan153Which is kinda weird considering the ideals of the American way and the way America tries to present itself is the opposite. Like we laud the complex efforts of the founding fathers, and their investments into debate and integrity, and we have discussions amongst the people everyday about how wrong bad ethics are yet our culture keeps doing it.

Unfortunately this is very common amongst many different companies. They incorrectly adapted for rapid growth (during covid) because their foundational infrastructure was not able to scale, and now have to restructure (massive layoffs) because that is the only way they can compensate for "profit loss" as sales start to level off (return to 'normal').

Company succeeds, CEO's get a bonus. Company fails, CEO's get a bonus. If profits don't align with shareholder value, CEO's get a bonus and employees get laid off to pay for dividends and CEO bonuses. It is the corporate way. Gotta love the change in corporate philosophy moving from caring for employees and community to putting "fiduciary duty to the shareholder" above all else that started back in the 70's.

As someone who works in business, I can say there is nothing more painful to me than receiving an order from up high that a layoff, paycut or any other impact to my department hits, not because of our failings, but because someone in upper management made a "minor" mistake, and now we all pay the price. Telling someone who worked hard, pushed through and succeeded all year "Hey huh, the boss says we need to cut personnel. Sorry" is one of the most frustrating, infuriating and depressing things I've seen

@TedSoper88

7 ай бұрын

" Sales missed their goal and while we were still profitable we have to layoff from other departments" - Ive seen it first hand.

@clintmoll6861

7 ай бұрын

And it happens all the time in industries across America - people in positions of leadership that shouldn’t be!

@michaelkeha

7 ай бұрын

I imagine in WoTC and Hasbros case given their hiring practices we are looking 70% people who were hired to meet some kind of quota or as a favor to a higher up and 30% actually worthwhile employees that shouldn't have been fired

We all know what's going to happen... CEO, CFO, and like 3-4 other 'top' employees will double their bonuses from 3-6m to 6-12m. That's about 1000 employees salaries (some $20-40million). Yeah. Can't wait to see their bonus updates at the end of the year.

@tenjenk

7 ай бұрын

lo and behind it happened last year, this year and its going to happen again for the end of this quarter. multi-million raises and big bonuses for the ceos and the other execs. THey leeching the franchise and when it dies, they'll move to another.

We appreciate you speaking out about this matter and bringing attention to how ill executives are, particularly over the holidays.

You're a good man. Thanks for your honesty and vulnerability. You deserve every one of your subs and more.

My play group is slowly transitioning to full proxies. As much as we all love real cardboard and real cards, it’s just getting too expensive.

@davidlee9870

7 ай бұрын

I started to pay to win with my playgroup, I dropped 300 CAD total on an Isshin deck that I brewed up and it was just so much better than the precons they were playing with. One guy brought a proxy deck, swept the entire night, and no one has bought a deck since. I still like buying real cards for my own collection but there's no reason for people to get priced out of fun.

@superjlk_9538

7 ай бұрын

@@davidlee9870if you’re playing casual I see no problem with proxies (as long as someone isn’t just proxying a sweep deck because they can)

@smeatar

7 ай бұрын

I’m proxying partially because I don’t want to pay high prices but mostly because I don’t want to pay that money to these companies specifically. Companies only care about money so if they aren’t doing the right thing people need to withhold their money or they will just keep getting worse.

@KaRmaTheSchemer

7 ай бұрын

Proxy gang gang I joined a group of veteran cEdh players whom had all the staples and power cards and I wanted to be on par They are the one who actually encouraged me cause I was feeling bad at first Play the player, not the wallet ✌️ Also so much more freedom the brew all the deck idea you have 👌

@noodles2459

7 ай бұрын

laughs in games workshop

When a CEO’s surname describes him and the other directors perfectly 😞

@thomaswhite3059

7 ай бұрын

What a bunch of Chrises

@hansu44

7 ай бұрын

His second name is probably Sucks

@Kolbjornelenano

7 ай бұрын

I wonder how Nintendo of America is doing with a guy named Bowser in charge...

@user-to9lk8ix6h

7 ай бұрын

@@Kolbjornelenano_This comment has been flagged for violating the copyright of Nintendo Co., Ltd. Please cease and desist immediately or risk legal action._

@jimmyd404

7 ай бұрын

Chris Cocks looks exactly like the kind of corporate sell out scumbag that would pull this

I do know. Because those executives do not care about the game, they don't even care about the company. They will suck it dry and then move on.

I heard the same term a lever we must pull at the bungie lay offs

I've been proxying cards for a while now, and recently was considering buying some packs and now I have no regrets proxying exclusively. The corporate greed is appalling and it is deeply saddening that so many talented people have lost their dream jobs. Thank you Prof for this detailed and heartfelt video. Sending my best regards.❤

@lainhikaru5657

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I'm all about proxynf as well. I've started playing the game during apocalypse block. I never had the idea some cards would reach absurd prices with time and so I aways liked to trade cards I had more than 4. I took some huge blows to my bank account if I was to regret cards I sold/trade back then, like 8 rystic studies, 1 savanah and 4 palynchron. The fact that the reserved list was never get rid off is very annoying. I enjoy playing pre-modern the most but I'm not up to pay for some absurd prices some cards reached. Specially because I don't live in America, in my country the ratio to dollar is basically 1 to 4 and card prices are based on dollar. It becomes very hard to play when a set of 4 cards can cost your whole montly pay.

@jasonrhome710

7 ай бұрын

Yeah. I was already avoiding Hasbro to enough of a extent that I was curtailing my getting back into actively collecting Transformers again and looking into switching into OPR, but I was still thinking about doing a sealed tourny at a FLG. Think I'll check out their Flesh + Blood night instead.

@hodlsage8968

7 ай бұрын

There was a time when using a proxy would not have been allowed at my table. The second they dropped block sets and started pumping out so much product, I told my play group to proxy up !!!

@jeef16

7 ай бұрын

yea honestly most of the good tabletop formats are either played heavily on discord webcam groups or local kitchentable meetups. unless you really fucking love your weekly modern night, MTGO is where modern and even pioneer happens. 93/94 and premodern are accessible through discord. CEDH has been my favorite format for the last 2 years after getting burnt out from MH2 release and the discord community for that is outstanding. why would I bother paying the cost of a used car for a SINGLE cedh deck. I have like 10 proxy cedh decks that averaged to like $30 each before sleeves and a box

I worked at an IT company that every year had layoffs. It used to be a running joke that you had a year’s contract and was only extended if you didn’t get cut! What it did do was make you nervous about the future and long term financial commitments (ie house, car, starting a family ect). In the end many left to find more stable jobs.

Mass layoffs really kill employee morale and are likely to lead into mass voluntary resignations too. 😔

Great video but to be honest most of us have already MTG behind or are in the process of moving onto other games such as "One Piece" and "Sorcery". As an old school player (going back to 94) I was put off the by the creation of "Collector Boosters" and the division of Set & Draft booster boxes as I felt the game was heading toward a dead end when it comes to it being an actual CCG. Kind of like when they came out with full art lands, everyone loved them, at least at first but the more sets that contained them the less exciting they and the lower the prices fell. When every card is over printed, have 3-5 different versions and foils in every pack where's value? The price increases & Amazon dumps are not helping things either. Combine all of those factors with the whole Magic 30th event and you get a player base that would rather just buy singles and skip the cost and risk of buying boosters or booster boxes.

Many Magic: The Gathering players ask, "why is Hasbro a soulless greedy corporation?"

@Fuzzi999

7 ай бұрын

Capitalism, it all comes down to making as much profit as possible for as little cost as possible

@Muongoing.97c

7 ай бұрын

Do you even have to specify "soulless" and "greedy" when you say corporation?

@eragonfreedman9228

7 ай бұрын

yes because even now there are people who will simp for the soulless greedy morally bankrupt corporation@@Muongoing.97c

Still watching/listening, but I agree with ya man. Sad times we live in when a big boss can take home 9 million dollars but still firing people two weeks before Christmas to save money.

It's a type of corruption that large businesses have where the workers who are doing the hard work and making the company a substantial amount of the profit through their efforts are paid the least and usually the first to be let go during restructures. Whilst usually the CEO the same year will get millions in bonuses which would equate to the yearly salary of at least 100 workers

You are the best magic the gathering content creator in the world, keep doing the great work. Congratulations Professor, huge fan from Brazil.

I can't Imagine how heart-renching it would be to find out that you'd be out of a job at around Christmas time.

@danacoleman4007

7 ай бұрын

It sucks

@TheVynka

7 ай бұрын

Imagine also *knowing* that you did your job WELL

@jpeters1734

7 ай бұрын

Honestly I’d rather know before rather than right after. You still have time to return expensive gifts if needed.

@dewhicular

7 ай бұрын

I know firsthand. First hand, late November. It was a terrible feeling.

@JCIANCA94

7 ай бұрын

It' happened to me 6 years ago, Amazon did not renew the contract of 300 people after the pre-Christmas peak period. I can't forget. They warned us at a briefing that many would not be renewed, but individually we were not warned, we found out either by calling the same day or because the badge no longer let us in. Fuck wadge slavery.

They're following the same blueprint of the greedmonsters across the U.S. The greed of these executives and boards is sick and will be the undoing of the companies they run, but not before they lick all the frosting off the top.

@friendlyfire7509

7 ай бұрын

@sethb9855 it's more in line with "the nature of the beast" of free market . When you're the CEO yes there are tough decisions, and some of us are not privy to what there "severance packages" preclude. Just to be clear: replacing human artists with AI Gen is a form of thievery when ppl livelihoods are at stake; free market also mean ppl can play something else/ make their own game. WOTC/ HABRO IS A conglomerate, but they are NOT GOD. how many times have we killed a god creature in games?

I just want to say that you are a fantastic soul and thank you for helping me get into Magic the Gathering so long ago. The game has brought me joy, and your hard work has as well. I hope one day to have a measure of the positive impact that you do.

Well said, Professor. It was something that needed to be said, and I hope they were listening.

Any CEO who is making above a million (and even THAT is an *extremely* arbitrary number) really needs to take a nice long walk off a short pier when they start talking about "family" and "our company values" while simultaneously letting staff go, outsourcing, and hiring contractors with false promises of making them full-time employees.

@autofigure00

7 ай бұрын

hasbro is literally doing what the big 3 US auto manufacturers have been doing prior to and after the UAW strikes. sucks a lot :/

@mattm7798

7 ай бұрын

Why should you be the one to set what the market values their contribution to be?

@deezboyeed6764

7 ай бұрын

​@@mattm7798quiet down bootlicker.

@123pa1n

7 ай бұрын

what are you talking about? The only "company values" that matter are the shareholder values. People losing their jobs because rich assholes cant get their faces stuffed enough.

@XopheAdethri

7 ай бұрын

The *ONLY* reason a company is a "family" is so they can get free work from you. NEVER fall for it.

Hasbro isn't your friend. They aren't good people. They are a business that can and will destroy itself for more profit. I wish wotc was never sold to them, but here we are.

@HabitualJoker

7 ай бұрын

Thank you for describing about 97% of all corporations.

@FearOgre

7 ай бұрын

24 years is a long time to be wishing

@lainhikaru5657

7 ай бұрын

Monopoly usually ruins things, or change them beyond recognition. 😢

@gene8447

7 ай бұрын

Wotc is also a business that was doing it before hasbro.

@zerorequiem42

7 ай бұрын

@@HabitualJoker So don't be surprised when it happens. That is my take.

Randomly encounters the stunt double for Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell. Nice.

Prof, you're a real one. I don't sub anymore only because I lost interest and faith in mtg(hasbro) and its too painful to see mtg content, but this popped up on my feed since tracking the Hasbro layoffs. But you're truly a great content creator. You Steward the game in your own way and i hope you sleep well every night knowing you've done your best. Not that you might have the business acumen, but I swear to God, if you switched places with Chris cox, I'd still be playing mtg, be more invested in d&d, and honestly, be a happier person knowing someone who loves the game I love is in charge. Cheers and happy holidays. To all of you who were laid off too. Sorry blind, unrestrained capitalism exists.

This truly is the window into what corporate greed looks like. My heart goes out to everyone that lost their job, though I wish I could give more than my sympathy. May they all find the same success in their future endeavors without the fear of losing another job.

@YOSHIERIDER

7 ай бұрын

This doesn't sound like greed to me. If it were, the most profitable department in the company would be getting raises, and be incentivized to stick around. Meanwhile the least profitable departments would see the mass layoffs. Maybe a small number of firings, disguised as layoffs. It's important to remember that companies are just groups of people, and people do things for many reasons. I've seen plenty of businesses make dumb decisions, that clearly had nothing to do with their bottom line.

@TedSoper88

7 ай бұрын

@@YOSHIERIDER You lay people off and others are less likely to ask for raises let alone just be given raises. They were profitable, this is greed. Corporations want to spend the least amount while making the most and they only care about the next quarter, longer term consequences be damned.

@XSquidbeatsX

7 ай бұрын

@@TedSoper88The board members make all their money from stock options.

Chris and the rest of the leadership team do not consider themselves stewards of the game and protectors of it's future. Their main priority is to provide value to the shareholders at any cost even if it means laying off workers from departments that lay golden eggs. As someone who was laid off earlier this year, if you are an employee who survived this round at WotC, begin looking elsewhere for a job. Hasbro has shown you how much they care about you, your hard work, and its products.

@obadijahparks

7 ай бұрын

Is flesh, and blood, hiring?

@HeyApples

7 ай бұрын

Look for a job... wrong. The correct solution is to unionize and collectively bargain for better conditions.

Very well put and said Coming from an English teacher I now understand why youve got such a way with words

Much appreciate you shining a light on this, thank you

It's like the companies treated the soaring pandemic profits of 2021 as the new floor and that it would be sustainable despite drastic changes from those original market conditions. They just can't seem to accept that you can't have a bar graph for year-to-year profits keep getting bigger every single year, especially in such a year like 2021 when the world and economy were in such states of anomaly that they may not be repeatable in the near future.

@deezboyeed6764

7 ай бұрын

Thats capitalism bro, if your not making more money then last year your a failure. Publically traded companies are scum.

This kind of Incompetence at c suite levels in corporations seem to be dishearteningly commonplace. It sucks for everyone who deals with consequences of managements mistakes

I stopped giving Hasbro/Wizards my money years ago when they made the cards thinner and started releasing sets so quickly that "quantity over quality" seemed like their MO. Never understood why other people, including my close friends, kept wasting their money on cards that auto-bend over night after opening them.

Christmas movie plot comes to life. Toy company fires employees just in time for Christmas.

It's all about the profits. Corporate big wigs seem to think that it is possible to get the same results by cutting workers and making ones who stay take over the duties (or to hire newer workers for less). This has been a thing for a long time and is so infuriating. Shareholders only seem to care about short-term, which this move might help for. But long term? Pfft, they don't care. ETA: these corporate assholes seem to think that so much of the profits and success comes from the product and are forgetting the *people behind the product*

@Lonovavir

7 ай бұрын

Hasbeen is sacrificing long term sustainability for short term profit like many businesses.

@baconsir1159

7 ай бұрын

That’s the most ridiculous thing, it doesn’t even make sense from a profit perspective. It’s actively sabotaging their profitable departments, for seemingly no reason.

@spartan316kaos

7 ай бұрын

All the bigwigs know we only have short term survivability as a planet (because of their greed and ecological decisions) so they're reaping as much benefits as they can before the world collapses

@TurnerClassicNinja

7 ай бұрын

A reminder that these people think that the money of their customers is actually their own and get upset when more and more of it isn't getting funneled to its rightful place: their wallets. They are ghouls, plain and simple, and the current economic system is made to support them.

@vsVeigar

7 ай бұрын

Welcome to ultra-liberalism and capitalism world... Those CEO are criminals.

Let's start supporting smaller gaming companies. Let them grow and maybe hire on some of these people. Instead of just boycotting, shift our attention

Damn. The Tales of Middle-earth set was what got me back into magic after a 20+ year hiatus. My wife liked it so much, she just bought her first deck ever. Wild that the person behind that was booted before I even found out this set was a thing.