Turing reviews

Turing has conducted two significant layoffs in 2022. The first one was on August 25th and the other on November 30th. This is quite surprising given that an announcement was made at the end of 2021 that they booked an $87M investment, which subsequently gave them a $1.1B valuation. (See TechCrunch) How is it possible that less than a year after you book $87M you're making two layoffs? Shareholders/Investors must be livid. On August 25th the CEO announced the first wave of layoffs, which was very unexpected for the entire organization given that Turing was supposedly cash heavy. In that announcement, Jonathan S. (CEO) assured employees twice that there would be "no additional reduction in headcount." That statement was complete b.s. Who is responsible for making multiple egregious hiring errors? Fast forward to November 30th, another unexpected layoff occurred ... 95 days after the first layoff. Layoff decisions don't happen overnight so how soon after the first layoff announcement was made that they were discussing another wave? Something else that is worth noting is that the CEO and various leadership told the employees, who were not laid off, that if they have any contact with those that were laid off that they should contact various leaders at Turing. Turing wants to keep things "hush hush" because the whole goal is to IPO and you can't have a successful IPO when laying people off becomes public. The Turing platform is extremely questionable. The platform boasts that it vets candidates to a "silicon valley standard" but many of these candidates can't even make it past the first interview because of a lack of technical or soft skills. It's true that there are customers leveraging the platform to build their technology teams, but the platform functions more as a database for candidates vs. an innovative solution that bridges supply and demand. For decades traditional staffing companies have been using databases to find known candidates. Turing functions as a global staffing company that happens to have a pretty database that decision makers have access to, but under the hood/behind closed doors its pure chaos. To date, the platform can only "vet" for engineers and it's doubtful how good this vetting process truly is. Turing recently announced a "Teams" offering, which is an empty promise to prospective companies that they can spin up cross functional teams to deliver on projects. The platform has zero vetting engine for PMs, QA, DMs, UX, etc. If a company asks for candidates that are not engineers Turing will say they can provide those candidates via our platform, but under the hood they need to go recruit for those roles, vet those candidates, and/or go into the database to find a candidate who might have those skills. There are so many other things I can touch on, but I wanted to shed light on a few key issues so future candidates and customers can make an informed decision on whether or not Turing is the kind of company they want to align themselves to.

In the cutthroat realm of startups, where aspirations clash with brutal realities, this exposé unmasks the harrowing truths behind a purportedly innovative AI-driven startup. Brace yourselves for a journey through the wreckage of broken promises, chaotic layoffs, and a management catastrophe. Unveiling Layoffs Picture this - a corporate guillotine slicing through the workforce, indiscriminately axing 50% in a merciless sweep. Email notifications of contract termination, devoid of empathy, portray an organization callously discarding its human capital. This wasn't a one-off nightmare but a recurring plague, with a staggering six rounds of layoffs in a mere two years. The rationale? A vague "restructuring," leaving employees bewildered, disgruntled, and ultimately dispensable. Deceptive Promises and Role Discrepancies The utopian vision promised during recruitment morphed into a dystopian reality of menial tasks, with (Creating HTML Templates, Email Campaign, Enoch Replies, Stealing Data from Linkedin) as the crown jewel. The stark contrast between envisioned roles and the soul-crushing reality became a breeding ground for discontent. The disparity between what was pledged and what transpired represents not just a breach of contract but a betrayal of professional aspirations. These Tasks in an AI-driven startup is like serving gruel in a Michelin-starred restaurant - absurd and disappointing. Management Meltdown At the core of this corporate calamity lies a managerial charade, a puppet show of incompetence. Six rounds of layoffs without a clear strategy, micromanagement galore, and a communication breakdown exemplify a management meltdown. Senior management's affinity for micromanagement paints a portrait of leaders lacking strategic vision. The use of Hindi as the exclusive communication medium hints at a clandestine favoritism that reeks of unprofessionalism. CEO's Reassurances vs. Reality The CEO, a puppet master of false reassurances, orchestrated a symphony of deceit. Promising an end to layoffs while orchestrating three more rounds defies not just trust but basic human decency. Zoom webinars served as the cold, heartless stage for pink slips. The CEO's repetitive layoff speeches, akin to a broken record, exemplify a complete disconnect from the human toll these decisions take. Hiring 'pros' from tech giants, apparently, only fattens paychecks without contributing to the company's soul. Cultural and Coordination Woes The company's culture, aptly described as 'really bad,' echoes through the disarray of random layoffs, haphazard hiring, and a lack of coherence. A cesspool of confusion and incompetence. Random layoffs, coupled with an absence of coherent communication, cultivate an atmosphere of corporate insanity. The lack of a task assignment system leads to anarchy, with some drowning in workload while others enjoy a laissez-faire existence. Marketing Team Dynamics Within the supposedly structured Marketing team lies a farcical hierarchy, where titles are divorced from actual responsibilities. The HR team's penchant for MBA degrees over practical knowledge adds another layer to this comedy of errors. Marketing Analysts (do not even know how to use a single CRM), expected to generate business, and find relevant leads for business generation, find themselves outshone by Data Specialists doing the heavy lifting (Each and Every Task). The HR team's blind pursuit of degrees in hiring, coupled with favoritism in promotions, paints a dismal picture of incompetence. Conclusion This unraveling saga exposes the underbelly of an AI-driven startup, where promises are shattered, layoffs are an accepted norm, and management is a ship rudderless in a storm. The cautionary tale reverberates: in the pursuit of innovation, do not neglect the fundamentals of transparency, employee welfare, and competent leadership.