Topic: That's All Folks

[AlanD96]

Last one out, turn off the lights. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/10/weather-company-layoffs-category-6/?fbclid=IwAR3mQgv47u9Bgouxv5u1H9aOYw-nd6K4SjpLH4xO13APD9tqEXjE1418Z64&utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

[funsutton]

The end of the Category 6 blog is just one of several consequences of the cuts at the Weather Company.

Beyond the blog, Masters fears the Weather Underground site he co-founded will fall into disrepair. He said just one of 50 Weather Underground employees on staff in 2016 will remain after the layoffs.

“The glory days of Weather Underground are in the past, and I don’t see the organization breaking any new ground in the future,” he wrote. “I was reluctant to agree to selling the company back in 2012, because I knew that absorption of Weather Underground by a large corporation would likely squash its creativity and uniqueness.”

Yeesh.

[Notsorusty]

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[ocala]

Would like to see Jeff Masters reinvent WU. Obviously he can't use the name but something like it used to be. Wishful thinking I guess.

[ConligWX]

I wonder if WU/IBM will try to depend on our data to exist lol

time to pull the plug.....

[WSWeather]

Bob Henson wrote this yesterday...

"After a run of 15 years, Category 6—originally Dr. Jeff Masters’ WunderBlog—will publish its final post on June 19, as The Weather Company shifts resources to other weather and climate efforts."

You can safely bet that those "other weather efforts" will not include weather hobbyists unless you agree to pay for data.

[galfert]

I just want to preempt any wrongful spread of misinformation.

WU is not shutting down. Yes some people were layed off and the WU blog was shut down is all.

I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea in case they didn't read the article referenced.

[ocala]

I just want to preempt any wrongful spread of misinformation.

WU is not shutting down. Yes some people were layed off and the WU blog was shut down is all.

I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea in case they didn't read the article referenced.

OK, not officially. What you posted is what the PR arm of IBM wants you to believe.
But it's been dying a slow death since 2012 when Masters sold it. He even admitted that himself. So in  essence, it's dead. The pic above putting nails in the coffin is spot on.

[SoMDWx]

I would agree with Ocala...WU has been dying a slow death for many years... One step forward, 3 steps back... Absolutely poor support to their users and better, data suppliers like us...

I don't understand the constant support for WU or their parent company when they have shown little respect for their users......

Hasta la vista baby !

[galfert]

I think IBM could sell WU rather than just let it die. So perhaps it just needs to get bad before it gets better.

[WSWeather]

I think IBM could sell WU rather than just let it die. So perhaps it just needs to get bad before it gets better.

If they do anything they'll just make it a page on weather.com.  IBM is not known for common sense.

As for your unnecessarily SHOUTED missive above, what would you call firing all but one employee?  It certainly does not bode well for WU's continued existence as a separate entity.

You can keep frantically clicking your heels together but the farm done blown away in the tornado and Auntie Em is long gone.

[galfert]

Shouting is done in all caps. Bold and large print is not shouting, it is to be noticed and not missed...as in the title of a book or article.

[danxx]

I go to WU for the forecasts, not the blog. Anyone could start a weather blog. Jeff is going to be posting at Yale Climate Connections, along with Bob Henson. Advantageously, YCC isn't connected with IBM.

[PaulHutch]

, what would you call firing all but one employee?

That's not quite what the linked article says.
He said just one of 50 Weather Underground employees on staff in 2016 will remain after the layoffs.
There could be any number of employees left, it's just that only one of them has been with WU for 4 or more years.

[alanb]

, what would you call firing all but one employee?

That's not quite what the linked article says.
He said just one of 50 Weather Underground employees on staff in 2016 will remain after the layoffs.
There could be any number of employees left, it's just that only one of them has been with WU for 4 or more years.

Still ... a sad distinction. Continuity and history are important elements in an employee base, just as new blood is.

[WSWeather]

, what would you call firing all but one employee?

That's not quite what the linked article says.
He said just one of 50 Weather Underground employees on staff in 2016 will remain after the layoffs.
There could be any number of employees left, it's just that only one of them has been with WU for 4 or more years.

Still ... a sad distinction. Continuity and history are important elements in an employee base, just as new blood is.

Indeed.  Most of them lost their jobs in 2016 when the bulk of the San Francisco operation was moved to Atlanta.