Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.
That bank needs a mass exodus of human capital, either from the top or bottom.
Reminds me of a much smaller scale event at my job recently. A manager who was not liked lost all their staff from their small department and is now stuck with all the work until those positions are filled.
Yes and no. The company is a bank - it's job is to take money and make money with that. I'm not surprised executive management is publicly saying they want to make investments in assets that will help their clients and they themselves make more money.
Oh man. It is a bank, Most finance people think exactly like that.
They just pretend most of the time they don't and we also pretend that we believe them most of the time.
Maybe it is about time we stop with all those pretend pleasantries and face the reality: when mega finance CEOs talk about our glorious UBI feature, they are not planning an idilic post-work world that looks like a Jehova's witness book illustration where we all spend our days writing poetry, painting and making music, they are planning something more like Soylent Green.
I don't think it's just internal culture. It's the epstein culture. We're watching the rise of the 'permanent underclass' and debating about what color of underclass everyone wants to be.
I would be wary as a customer too because there is little doubt he sees them the same way. Although perhaps their style of customer even appreciates this.
Still, a responsible CEO would resign after such a blunder because he has become a liability for business.
Imagine someone telling you that their cousin who convinced someone to off themselves and may hallucinate occasionally that they should be the person dealing with your customers. You'd flat out tell them to go f themselves. But if their 'cousin' was an AI you wouldn't bat an eye.
Obviously a stupid thing for a leader to say about his own employees but I think getting emotionally upset about this statement is also pretty silly.
Having employees represents deployed capital. Some of that "human capital" is lower value than others. Obviously AI will replace the lowest segments first. Call it heartless or accurate, you're correct either way, but these are not words that cut deep into the heart of heads of banks - its more or less their entire job to be heartless and accurate.
I've worked for companies who have kind, sensitive, and inaccurate leadership. The result was everyone was out of a job, rather than just the low performers. Pick your poison.
Humans are humans. Not "capital." Not "resources." They're f*cking people.
Business is business and you have to be mindful of costs. But good lord, is it that hard to understand that treating your employees with basic decency is positive for your company?
I am not always certain if the people who are ostensibly in charge recognize how much anger exists in the society already ( though I can only offer anecodotes ). There absolutely is zero need to antagonize them further in such a manner. Add to this other stressors, throw in midterms and you have a recipe for a disaster.
Yeah, fuck that guy. There used to be a time when such statements would warrant a visit from an angry mob with pitchforks, it's time for actions to have consequences again. Simply because if this kind of pressure is not relieved, eventually there will be a repeat of the infamous plumber's brother incident.
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[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 32.6 ms ] threadReminds me of a much smaller scale event at my job recently. A manager who was not liked lost all their staff from their small department and is now stuck with all the work until those positions are filled.
They just pretend most of the time they don't and we also pretend that we believe them most of the time.
Maybe it is about time we stop with all those pretend pleasantries and face the reality: when mega finance CEOs talk about our glorious UBI feature, they are not planning an idilic post-work world that looks like a Jehova's witness book illustration where we all spend our days writing poetry, painting and making music, they are planning something more like Soylent Green.
They should, but they don't.
Use and abuse is lawful and expected.
Still, a responsible CEO would resign after such a blunder because he has become a liability for business.
Having employees represents deployed capital. Some of that "human capital" is lower value than others. Obviously AI will replace the lowest segments first. Call it heartless or accurate, you're correct either way, but these are not words that cut deep into the heart of heads of banks - its more or less their entire job to be heartless and accurate.
I've worked for companies who have kind, sensitive, and inaccurate leadership. The result was everyone was out of a job, rather than just the low performers. Pick your poison.
Business is business and you have to be mindful of costs. But good lord, is it that hard to understand that treating your employees with basic decency is positive for your company?