Parler CEO on Tech Layoffs, Sheryl Sandberg’s Facebook Departure, and Elon Musk

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{Welcome back- well technology companies last month, laying off employees at the highest rate since 2020. 66 technology firms, including Netflix, PayPal, Carvana, handing out 16,800 pink slips in the month of May. Microsoft, Snap, Instacart – all slowing hiring, while Meta and Twitter have frozen hiring in certain departments. Joining me right now is the CEO of Parler, George Farmer.}

_{George, great to see you. Thanks so much for being here. I want to get your take on what’s going on with social media. But first, let’s talk about the environment right here in tech and all of these layoffs within the sector. How would you assess things?}

_{George Farmer}

_{Yeah, Maria, I think it’s a very good question. I mean, it’s good to be here, by the way. But generally speaking, the sector is feeling the effects of this interest rate rise and the end of free money. The free environment has sort of exacerbated the worst of the tech hiring, which is basically meant that companies are trading off ridiculous price to earnings ratios and have sort of exacerbated the overstaffing of these companies. I think it was Mark Anderson who said that tech companies are four times overstaffed right now. And I think that these layoffs are just the beginning.}

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{So are there areas of tech you see that are more strained than others, or is this just an overall sort of a conservative approach, knowing that things are about to get worse? Jamie Dimon yesterday at that investor conference said that we’re expecting an economic hurricane on the horizon.}

_{George Farmer}

_{Yes. I mean, they’ve got the perfect storm hitting them right now, inflation, of rising interest rates. The Fed is obviously trying to combat this incredibly aggressive inflation period right now. And as a result, tech companies that are most exposed. I think it’s probably going to be more of an industry wide repercussion, if I’m honest, rather than just a sort of isolated example. And I do think that it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’d be very surprised if you suddenly see companies start hiring again in the short term.}

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{So, George, you’re competing with all these social media companies. You have your free speech platform Parler. And this morning we’ve got news that Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from Meta after 14 years. What’s your take on Sandberg leaving Meta after her leadership there for so long and how the company may be different or what’s next in terms of the changes at Facebook?}

_{George Farmer}

_{Yeah, I mean, let’s put it like this. I don’t think she’s one of the layoffs in the tech sector. I think her decision probably stands aside. But Sheryl Sandberg is really the woman who made Facebook profitable. I think she is the operating officer who gave corporate structure and vision to the company that Mark Zuckerberg came up with in his Harvard dorm. I think that her decision to step down is probably sensible in some ways because Facebook is facing unprecedented challenges and Messer is facing unprecedented challenges as it tries to move into the Metaverse. That’s another area that they’ve frozen hiring. I thought that was very interesting decision they took earlier this year to stop investing in that and to lay off some of the employees in that sector. And so I think that she probably has found that the future is a bit brighter outside of Meta and the increasing regulation that they’re facing and the increasing scrutiny that they’re coming under globally.}

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{Yeah, that’s a great analysis there. All right, let me get your take on the Supreme Court ruling – blocking a Texas law that would stop social media platforms from removing user posts based on their views. George, what do you make of it?}

_{George Farmer}

_{Yeah, something we don’t suffer from a Parler, which is a nice thing to be able to say. But HB 20 as it was. I mean, I think it’s very interesting that Justice Alito wrote in his dissenting opinion that the regulations that are currently governing big tech were written long before the era of the internet. And I think that that’s a very true point. And I think that there’s much of the law now which governs big tech, which is completely inappropriate for big tech. And I think this law from the Texas legislature try to combat that and try to sort of put in place legislation which actually enshrines and allows people to speak more freely. That’s the irony of this law. The irony is that people can speak more freely with this law because big tech currently stands as Conservatives. And I thought it was also interesting that in the industry regulator who are trying to appeal the decision, they said that this would overrule the expressive editorial ability of many of the big tech platforms, an editorial ability they’re not supposed to have under Section 320. So in defending themselves, they actually shot themselves in the foot, which I thought was a bizarre methodology of defending ourselves yourself. But, of course, the Supreme Court granted the stay, which I thought was disappointing.}

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{Yeah, you are so right, George, and you’ve been trying to fight this censorship with Parler. You’re also skeptical on this Twitter deal. Let’s talk about Elon Musk and whether or not he’s going to be successful in this acquisition of Twitter based on the terms originally reported. So in the last couple of weeks, we learned about fake accounts. One thing that he did was really expose Twitter in terms of all of those fake accounts. Was that a move to get the price down? How do you think this plays out?}

_{George Farmer}

_{Yeah, I mean, I chuckle a little bit because whatever happens now, Twitter is a damaged brand. He’s played this brilliantly in many ways. And hats off to him, because if he steps away from the deal now, well, everyone knows that Twitter has got a huge bot problem. And if he continues with the deal, he’s definitely going to get a lower price. So whichever way he’s out chessed them in this game and I think that they are going to suffer as a result. Everybody knows that Twitter has so many bot accounts. I mean you just got to look at some of the follower counts. I mean Hillary Clinton with 31.4 million Twitter accounts and yet she can’t get over 500 retweets. I mean give me a break. I mean this is nonsense, right? So Twitter is clearly overrun with bots and Elon just exposed them for the lie they are.}

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{I mean you’re so right and all of that hate all the time on Twitter. We should have realized how many fake accounts there were. George, real quick, before you go, How’s Parler doing?}

_{George Farmer}

_{It’s doing great. Thanks, Maria. We’re not laying off work because we’re actually hiring right now. We’ve had a very busy year and we’re expanding fast and we’re growing well.}

_{Maria Bartiromo}

_{Okay, great, George. We’ll catch up soon. Thanks very much for weighing in all of that. Always a pleasure to see you, George Farmer joining this morning CEO of Parler.}