I see a lot of people quick to dismiss and down vote this comment. I understand why, people don't like unsupported supposition and conspiracy theories when they in theory pride themselves on being logical.
I'd like to point out how similar replies and derision were directed at people who suspected there was collusion to fix engineers salaries and how their was a "gentleman's agreement" to prevent hiring engineers away from each other amongst these very same companies. That happened in 2014 and it proved these same companies were all in close communication with each other in regard to staffing and salaries. They were caught and convicted and paid a small portion of the money saved by colluding as a fine.
Do I believe we have any evidence anyone is currently colluding in order to lay off enough people to cool down a rapidly heating up labor market, and suppress the demand to work remotely and be paid the same as their peers in high cost of living areas like the Bay?
No.
Do I believe they would do so if it increased profits or manipulated the cost center they hate the most (salaries and headcount) in a beneficial way, and have the means to communicate with each other unofficially to coordinate such actions, yeah, I do. They've already proven they were willing and able to do so in the past.
So while baseless accusation might be useless conspiracy fodder, cynicism is warranted when a seemingly coordinated action is being taken. Cynicism is warranted in all dealings with all of these companies. They are amoral, and exist at a level of income in which the legal system has only a tenuous hold. They have also demonstrated in the past they are willing to collude in order to hurt engineers to their benefit.
Just food for thought, and discussion. I would prefer to think about how they could be caught if that's what they were doing, and how the issue could be dealt with, rather than dismissing it out of hand. However, labor conditions for people like us has so far not descended to the point where embracing the concept of unionization is appealing, and I don't see any other way engineers could fight for job security, and wage increases commiserate with inflation or pinned to profit margins.
It's funny, there are a lot of brilliant people in this industry, but we are still being taken advantage of by the same old hucksters, and con men, I've seen it for 20 years. You would think at some point we would find a way to fight back even if it didn't involve unionizing, but it's the same pattern of the "business" guys robbing the piggy bank, or turning good places to work into dystopian nightmares for a percent more of return for that quarter. Then we just pull up stakes and move on to another company make a bit more until they do the same thing there. At some point it's all going to suck then what?