This is Nick. This is Jack. And the CEO of Adidas just gave his personal phone number to 60K employees. He did it to boost morale, but the only thing he boosted was his unreads. He got 200 calls from workers each week. Hey Bjorn, just had an idea for a new logo. 

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1) The Future is Here: The $3,500 iGoggles

The Apple Vision Pro headset is the biggest product since the iPhone launched 17 years ago. And it’s available to order today for delivery Feb 2nd. 

Setting the scene: In this young 2024, Apple has lost some mojo… 

• Microsoft stole its most valuable company crown, the US banned the Apple Watch 9 because of patent infringement, and weak iPhone demand in China forced the company to cut prices. 😬

Drama aside, Apple’s 1st headset looks more futuristic than Avatar, but 2 key features really make this thing freaky: 

• 1) Spatial computing: This made-up word means your computer’s screen is all the space around you. It lets you literally “read the room” you’re sitting in. On a Zoom call, you see Carole from Accounting and your living room.

• 2) Multitasking: All you have to do is set transparency to 50%, and voilà — you can binge White Lotus while doing dishes. You see both Portia and the pots and pans at the same time. In true streaming app fashion, there’s drama there too, though the headset still comes loaded with a slew of bingeable options. 

Features aside: Our 20/20 vision sees that the biggest benefit is how you buy it…

The Takeaway →

The test drive is a competitive advantage. For $3,500, this Apple headset is literally the price of a used car — and like a car, you want to try it before you buy it. Therein lies Apple’s advantage: the Apple Store. Today you can make a reservation to take the headset for a spin. Meanwhile, Meta has just a YouTube video to woo for its $1K version. All we’re saying is we got our next date-night rezo planned: an iGoggles Test Drive.

2) America’s Hero is The TikToker who Recorded Her “Firing” 

Ex-Cloudflare employee Brittany Pietsch went viral for filming the meeting that terminated her — 1.6M TikTok views later and “layoff videos” are the new trend. 

Zooming out: 2 weeks into 2024, and there've been 7,785 layoffs across 58 tech companies (Accord. to layoffs.fyi). Google laid off 1K employees, Amazon made cuts to its media teams, and Apple shut down an office in San Diego…what’s happening? With tech stocks at record highs, it’s the tech layoff season no one saw coming. 

This 9-minute video sums up a mutual feeling among techies — Frustrated. And left without answers. 

The TLDR: 

• Before the call: Brittany knew the firing was coming because her work bestie was fired just prior. So, she came ready to the suddenly slotted 15-min calendar invite with her phone secretly recording. 

• On the call: 2 rando HR people — Meanwhile her manager wasn’t even there. 

• The reason: They cited was “performance” — Which she didn't buy because her manager had previously said she was doing well. 

• What can they share? Well…they’ll “circle back” on that. Classically unjust. 

What the video really reveals: The new cost for layoffs isn’t severance pay, it’s company reputation. Nearly 2 million MBA, college students, and techies may have crossed Cloudflare off their “apply to” list. 

The Takeaway →

Layoffs can be a surprise. Firings shouldn’t be. Most layoffs happening right now are unrelated to workers’ performance — They’re about the company’s performance. So it’s worth clarifying…

• Layoffs aren’t about worker performance — the company is cutting costs or changing direction and has to reduce the workforce (surprises happen, you can’t control the business environment).

• Firings are about the worker — the employee is underperforming, which should not be a surprise if the manager has been effectively communicating and giving feedback.

On the pod today…

🧀 Kraft Heinz added 3 flavors to their American cheese singles “cheese product”. On today’s pod we tell you why Big Food is done apologizing, now arguing that “processed is good”. 

Here’s what else you need to know today —

😮‍💨 Shutdown avoided: Congress passed a bill to fund the federal government through March. President Biden is expected to sign it today.

💊 The price of Ozempic is up 4% to $970/month. Great products hook ya, and then they book ya. 

🤖 TSMC predicts booming demand for its A.I. chips. The Taiwan-based chip company is also the 11th most valuable company in the world. Nbd. 

👋 The former COO of Meta, Sheryl Sandberg, is now leaving the Board after 12 years — She led Meta’s advertising powerhouse to become a $1T company. 

📽️ The 40th annual Sundance Film Festival kicked off yesterday in Park City, Utah. 17K indie films were submitted this year. Whiplash, Memento, and Get Out are some of the all-time faves that have come out of the event. 

And one more thing. What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen management do?

—Nick & Jack