Make no mistake, the tsunami of #tech #layoffs is not about the recession. It’s about striking back at “uppity” labor, after they enjoyed a shift in the balance of power from #remotework and DEI #activism .
These companies are reporting record profits. Inflation is just cover. It’s because they can, because there’s social cover for it, because there’s money left on the table and having “some” money isn’t enough.
It’s nothing short of class warfare.
@hyc @toxtethogrady @Haste and then they will buy them when they make something successful.
Instead of paying a bunch of people hoping to make something, they cut them loose, pay nothing, and then buy them back when they make something worthwhile, or they copy it.
I'm rooting for people to win but..... I think we have reached the functional end of money as we know it. It doesn't scale to this level.
Content warning: Layoffs are yet another area where companies refuse to follow the science. Here's what the science says.
@toxtethogrady @Haste It's absolutely coordinated
Their stocks go up after layoffs: investors are rewarding them because this is what investors are demanding
because the alternative way to combat inflation is to tax the investor class
@paninid @mrcompletely you’re an interesting hypothesis.
… I didn’t think that one out let me try again wait [end of message]
@oblomov 100%. I even saw Vox the other day supporting that narrative in a way that made me really uncomfortable.
Oh, the problem is we’re overpaid you say? Not the wealth hoarding? :/
@Haste Citation needed.
You don't only lay people off because you're about to run out of money. You also do it because you realize you hired too many guys. Which they did, people had loads of capital they wanted to invest somewhere and they thought the pandemic might create a permanent shift to use websites more which never really happened
@edmundedgar @Haste The correct take.
What people don't also realize is the chain of command's role in this. Managers, directors, VPs see it coming but don't change direction, leading to their teams getting cut and employees being unhappy with the company rather than realizing that their own leaders threw them under the bus.
The same management that blew their entire budget increasing headcount while under-delivering, and thousands of workers are the collateral.
It's another unfortunate reality that you can only help low ROI teams for so long until the discrepancy becomes too noticeable.
@Haste
One major pet peeve I've had with some of my fellow tech workers is that many (not all) have the attitude that they are "better" or "more worthy" than workers in other industries.
This is often accompanied by a naive, practically Randian delusion that because of this, solidarity with other workers or even other tech workers is not needed.
We build and maintain invisible infrastructure. It's easy for people to fake that they are us.
Those who are doing the work are too busy working to advertise. So tech people have, in some ways, been underinvested in. Inevitably those who can create get a business man or corporation on top of them who snuffs them out. Society has chosen companies that have bad business practices. They have failed to protect their 'support'. Allowed their creations to be pilfered. Didn't listen to their warnings.
Tech people are angry about this. This is how I understand it, but it's also different for everyone based on their position and experience. There are many valid interpretations and experiences based on where you are.
I know everyone has different values and experiences, but I cannot deny that there is still a bit of tendency for many to look down on those without "technical" skills.
Many of the "learn to code" posts in response to professionals other industries losing their jobs may have been by trolls, but I do know at least a few people who share that attitude.
I'm glad to see there are many who don't.
Never liked the term warrior.
Historically warriors were brave losers who followed no rules.
Winners were usually soldiers. Or sailors. Or pilots. Or marines.
@Haste
Of course it is.
But could work out better
We can't all boycott Google, Amazon, Salesforce, but we can reduce our use of them
Plus a lot of talented people are now able to form competitors.
I think a big consequence of the pandemic that we’re only beginning to understand is that it distanced executives from the people who create value: employees and customers. The executive class has become even more insular and delusional about their companies and the people in them. Much to their detriment.
@Haste Sounds plausible, at least for big tech. There are a lot of smaller firms, though, where profits are down (or gone), any runway in the bank is drying up, and access to capital is vanishing. Those companies aren't being left with a lot of choice but layoffs.
That story is kind of buried by the big exciting numbers from the FAANGs.
@mjm It doesn't by default, but that income is associated with holding substantial assets (such as real estate) and an investment portfolio.
I'm just a little tired of watching the same people that do a happy dance every time a mine or power station or factory closes down complain that their industry is taking a turn at it. Reminds me of when the journalists who happily wrote articles telling factory workers to "learn to code" found themselves on the receiving end of the same suggestion.
We all know that large enterprise uses RIF waves to manage workforce size. Over-hire, don't fire and then do a big spill&fill every few years. With redundancy payments.
@PCOWandre I’m not entirely disagreeing with you - frankly we need more solidarity across industries, the interests of devs and assembly-line workers are much closer aligned than either is to capital.
Worth noting though that in the big US coastal cities $250k isn’t as awesomely huge as it sounds. You may be able to put some aside in savings but rent is gonna eat up a huge whack of it.
(And of course that’s why those tech workers pushed out the previous residents who make a lot less.)
@mjm And in the last two years a lot of those tech workers moved out of their expensive locations to work remotely in somewhere more reasonable.
$250 is on the low side for a lot of the Californian 'big tech'.
There will never be "solidarity" between big tech workers and other industries while said tech workers are making fat bank while hooting their trap off on Twitter all day.
There's just no alignment between those who can earn so much money with individual negotiated salary and those working a job paid far less. Who the fuck wants a collective bargaining agreement that leads to lower pay, loss of stock plans and progression limited by pay bands?
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