Once the deal goes through, they will be Microsoft employees. Until then, certainly this will hurt their image, but I doubt that no one would work for Skype (of course, I wouldn't).
> Once the deal goes through, they will be Microsoft employees
My two cents: Microsoft is known for being unethical with its competitors, but never with its employees. Right now, Microsoft is in a position it can take a stand for what's right and refuse to complete the acquisition unless Skype aligns its HR policies with the company making the acquisition.
Microsoft is not paying 8.5B for the code. They are buying the Skype brand and the loyalty of its customers (at least the ones running Windows). What Skype is doing - and that's something that's hitting mainstream press soon - will damage the brand - and possibly customer loyalty - irreparably.
And, by provoking a diaspora of the talented people, they are creating dozens of competitors.
I completely agree, but I wouldn't assume that Microsoft isn't doing anything behind the scenes. When you are dealing with an issue that is generating bad press like this but your company isn't the cause (i.e. Microsoft) but it has the potential to hurt you, it doesn't always serve you to deal with it publicly. Microsoft's name isn't currently tied to the bad press, so it's in their best interest to work behind the scenes to do damage control without linking their name in the public's mind with the unethical dealings of Skype and Silver Lake.
This is a matter to be dealt with publicly. What is being perceived is that Microsoft, at best, doesn't really care for the Skype folks. The worst that can be read into its silence is that they favor it because they never had the intention to keep the team and this spares them some bad press.
If Microsoft does nothing, that's because they prefer Skype to continue its behavior because Microsoft perceives it increases the value of the assets being purchased.
Comments
Once the deal goes through, they will be Microsoft employees. Until then, certainly this will hurt their image, but I doubt that no one would work for Skype (of course, I wouldn't).
> Once the deal goes through, they will be Microsoft employees
My two cents: Microsoft is known for being unethical with its competitors, but never with its employees. Right now, Microsoft is in a position it can take a stand for what's right and refuse to complete the acquisition unless Skype aligns its HR policies with the company making the acquisition.
Microsoft is not paying 8.5B for the code. They are buying the Skype brand and the loyalty of its customers (at least the ones running Windows). What Skype is doing - and that's something that's hitting mainstream press soon - will damage the brand - and possibly customer loyalty - irreparably.
And, by provoking a diaspora of the talented people, they are creating dozens of competitors.
I completely agree, but I wouldn't assume that Microsoft isn't doing anything behind the scenes. When you are dealing with an issue that is generating bad press like this but your company isn't the cause (i.e. Microsoft) but it has the potential to hurt you, it doesn't always serve you to deal with it publicly. Microsoft's name isn't currently tied to the bad press, so it's in their best interest to work behind the scenes to do damage control without linking their name in the public's mind with the unethical dealings of Skype and Silver Lake.
This is a matter to be dealt with publicly. What is being perceived is that Microsoft, at best, doesn't really care for the Skype folks. The worst that can be read into its silence is that they favor it because they never had the intention to keep the team and this spares them some bad press.
If Microsoft does nothing, that's because they prefer Skype to continue its behavior because Microsoft perceives it increases the value of the assets being purchased.
Microsoft has a long history of being very unethical with its own employees. Look up permatemp and Vizcaino v. Microsoft.
Wow. I have heard the term "permatemp" before, but it seemed more like incompetence than malice.