Nvidia CEO would rather ‘torture employees to greatness’ than fire them

Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, has recently become a giant in the tech world as his AI chip design company soared to a $3 trillion valuation in June. He doesn’t necessarily usher in a different way of working, though: In a fireside chat with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Huang praised the value of pushing employees to the brink.

“I’d rather torture you into greatness because I believe in you,” Huang said. Collison laughed, stating he was “hoping to uncover that phrase,” that Huang claimed to be “kind of tongue-in-cheek.”

When you fire someone, there’s the notion that they can’t learn the job at hand, explained Huang. He doesn’t really subscribe to that mentality. “I don’t like giving up on people because I think they could improve,” he said.

Rather than avoiding putting all his eggs in one basket, Huang strays closer to breaking them. Indeed, accounts of a grueling workplace at Nvidia have recently cropped up. Anonymous interviews from a group of 10 current and former staff members paint a picture of an always-on culture, per Bloomberg.

One such former employee spoke of seven-day work weeks and days that end around 1 or 2 a.m. They noted other staff members would sign off at even later hours. The reported “pressure cooker” has led to some tension at the office. Another former worker said she attended seven to 10 daily meetings, where fighting and shouting was common. 

This workaholic norm is perhaps coming from the top-down. When asked in the same fireside talk about his work-life balance, Huang said the following: “It’s really great. I work as much as I can,” adding that he works from the moment he wakes up til he goes to bed. Huang is always thinking about work, and don’t ask him how he liked the most recent film he watched because while he might sit there he doesn’t “remember them because I’m thinking about work.”

It all leads to a situation not unlike being inside with no recess on an exceptionally nice day. Nvidia workers have a pretty sweet deal when it comes to compensation, as they can contribute up to 15% of their salary to buying company shares at a 15% discount. But because of their long hours, there’s not much of a playground to enjoy their riches with.

One former employee described it as being like being tied to “golden handcuffs,” explaining that she didn’t leave for two years because of her wealth-building opportunities. For sure, many workers likely don’t quit because of their vested shares and the potential stock grants vested every four years. Turnover sat at 2.7% in 2023 compared to the general rate of 17.7% in the semiconductor industry, according to Nvidia’s Sustainability Report 2024’s fiscal year.

Part of Huang’s asserted ethos is that he doesn’t want his workers to miss out on their potential. “Oftentimes they’re so close,” he noted. “Could you imagine you gave up just that moment right before you got it? I don’t want you to give up on that, so I’ll just keep torturing you.”