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Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#41

Post by fullshark »

leetharris wrote: post #19

This is going to be a controversial opinion. The quality of your average tech worker has completely nosedived in the last 10-15 years. All these huge companies wanted more products, more marketshare, more money, etc. They needed more people to pull this off. They started lowering hiring standards across the board because there just weren't enough people in tech. Simultaneously, a huge portion of the world saw tech sa…

"Your average colleague is an idiot" is never an unpopular opinion among tech workers. "You are average," now that is unpopular opinion.

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#42

Post by bcrosby95 »

leetharris wrote: post #19

This is going to be a controversial opinion. The quality of your average tech worker has completely nosedived in the last 10-15 years. All these huge companies wanted more products, more marketshare, more money, etc. They needed more people to pull this off. They started lowering hiring standards across the board because there just weren't enough people in tech. Simultaneously, a huge portion of the world saw tech sa…

The awkward part is that most people I know that have been at these companies for 10+ years feel like they couldn't pass the current hiring bar.

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#43

Post by helsinki »

pi-e-sigma wrote: post #24
leetharris wrote: post #19

This is going to be a controversial opinion. The quality of your average tech worker has completely nosedived in the last 10-15 years. All these huge companies wanted more products, more marketshare, more money, etc. They needed more people to pull this off. They started lowering hiring standards across the board because there just weren't enough people in tech. Simultaneously, a huge portion of the world saw tech sa…

Even if we assume that what you think is true then it is still solely the companies' fault. Because if the prospective employees are so shit why would you hire them in the first place?

because A’s hire B’s that hire C’s that hire D’s /incorrect grammar

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#44

Post by smiths1999 »

megaserg wrote: post #18

Gergely Orosz's theory[1]: > An IRS tax code change in Section 174. This change eliminates the ability for businesses to deduct R&D as an expense. > Hear of lots of layoffs directly because of this, as a start. [1] https://twitter.com/GergelyOrosz/status/1735030983173230944?...

I don't follow. Aren't employee salaries a deductible expense? The above makes me think more along the lines of no longer being able to deduct GPU costs incurred from deep learning research.

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#45

Post by groby_b »

pi-e-sigma wrote: post #24
leetharris wrote: post #19

This is going to be a controversial opinion. The quality of your average tech worker has completely nosedived in the last 10-15 years. All these huge companies wanted more products, more marketshare, more money, etc. They needed more people to pull this off. They started lowering hiring standards across the board because there just weren't enough people in tech. Simultaneously, a huge portion of the world saw tech sa…

Even if we assume that what you think is true then it is still solely the companies' fault. Because if the prospective employees are so shit why would you hire them in the first place?

Because time-to-market matters? Because even minimally productive folks were ROI-positive in ZIRP world, but a bad idea in 8% interest world? Because Wall Street rewards growth?

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#46

Post by soared »

leetharris wrote: post #19

This is going to be a controversial opinion. The quality of your average tech worker has completely nosedived in the last 10-15 years. All these huge companies wanted more products, more marketshare, more money, etc. They needed more people to pull this off. They started lowering hiring standards across the board because there just weren't enough people in tech. Simultaneously, a huge portion of the world saw tech sa…

This doesn’t really make sense - if it were true a single company could pay many times what faang does to secure talent 10x+ better than a normal tech worker and have unfettered success. It also means a 10x dev years ago would be.. 100x now?

It also implies some weird logic that if you were into tech before, you’re better than someone who was born 10 years later and is into tech now. And implications that if you’re not devoted to your employers industry your work output is meaningfully worse, which maybe is true but maybe not.

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#48

Post by windowlessmonad »

leetharris wrote: post #19

This is going to be a controversial opinion. The quality of your average tech worker has completely nosedived in the last 10-15 years. All these huge companies wanted more products, more marketshare, more money, etc. They needed more people to pull this off. They started lowering hiring standards across the board because there just weren't enough people in tech. Simultaneously, a huge portion of the world saw tech sa…

I don't think this is a significant factor in the size of the layoffs. Many high-level and high-tenure employees are being laid off, and this is apparent in many of the various companies that have had significant layoffs in the last couple years. The lay-offs have also heavily affected departments outside of engineering: product, marketing, finance, etc. have all been affected.

I don't disagree that companies greatly over-hired, but I don't think the largest portion there has been bootcamp/cert/junior SWEs.

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#49

Post by happyweasel »

LarsDu88 wrote: post #26
Solvency wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You are a company. The system we have demands growth. Even very stable and reliable profits are seen as failure. There must be growth." But take a software company like McNeel. They make a popular but extremely niche market product called https://www.rhino3d.com . They've been around for decades . They have extremely low turnover. Many developers have worked there since the beginning. They are used around the globe…

How are people still paying for this when blender exists?

Do you know the difference between CAD and polygonal 3d modellers ?

btw, blender always existed. Like since 1998?

Re: Ask HN: What is the current driver of tech layoffs?

#50

Post by opt1c »

anonymouse008 wrote: post #20

[Pulling from another thread, but this is my best guesstimate. With additional context] The rules of the game have changed. > We were allowed to expense all employee compensation tied to software or R&D in the year in which we paid it. Now we can only expense a small fraction of that because we have to capitalize the expense. That means if you paid and developer $100 to develop a piece of software then sold subscript…

The section 174 changes were never intended to go into effect and are a byproduct of the bill review process by deficit hawks. A group in the House has called for changes but a bill hasn't made it out of committee yet.
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