Coursera

The company has some pretty good missions.

It has some good internal toolsets, people were friendly and helpful (at least before the layoff), and online education is a field with great potential.

The salary was pretty competitive, but you may not get as much as you think given the current turnover rate.

WLB used to be okay.

Cruelty and short-sightedness:

The layoff in Nov 2022 was handled very badly. Many long-time employees were dismissed overnight, with lots of knowledge gone with them, together with some cultural aspects that used to make Coursera a good place to work for.

Shadiness:

Coursera refuses to publish the exact number or percentage of the layoff, while many other companies do at the moment of layoff.

Sneakiness:

What's even worse than that, I (joined less than 1 year ago) was dismissed by Coursera due to "performance issues" right after the global layoff, although the manager used to give me pretty positive feedback before the layoff, and I was offered a tiny (less than 3 weeks) severance package, which I refused. In comparison, these laid-off employees got around 4 months of severance pay or more. By framing it as "dismissal" rather than "layoff," I think Coursera tries to circumvent government scrutiny and get away with paying less severance. And I believe I'm not alone.

This shady business practice must be made known and punished.

The severance they offered has violated the laws of my local jurisdiction, and I am pursuing legal action against them. I was vigilant enough to keep some compelling evidence before termination. If you are also an ex-Courserian and want to sue Coursera, we can initiate a class action, though unfortunately I'm not allowed to share contact info on Glassdoor. I have posted it on Reddit; you can find it by googling.

This layoff is actually not the first time. When Jeff M. stepped up as the CEO in 2017, he laid off 40+ employees, many of whom contributed significantly to a round of funding they raised at that time. People might have forgotten, but in 2022, Jeff reminds us again of this.

The company is no longer working on its real mission. It's now just pleasing the shareholders on the capital market. This layoff and the relevant shady, illegal practices make me seriously doubt the prospect of the company.

My suggestion to current employees: Keep evidence, especially related to your performance, even when things seem to be pretty good. And form a Slack group outside the company's control so that it becomes easier for you to initiate a class action, especially in situations like mine.

Stop providing lip service and do real things for the employees; stop shady operations, and follow the law and moral standards.

If you want to reduce the cost of doing business, then the executive staff should take pay cuts like Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook. It's much more effective than firing employees.