This is how you get tech unions.
Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
371–380 of 1001 posts
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#372Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree and I am sad that we're teaching each other to be skeptical and cynical. The company is not your friend and not your enemy, I agree. However, people _do_ develop personal relationship with each other. Sometimes even across the different levels in the company hierarchy. Yes, as with any other relationship, circumstances and interests might override this, but relationships still do matter. People have emotio…
This is just unrealistic. When layoffs happens, whole departments can get cut. They don’t differentiate performers. Likewise, there is a huge bias in hiring against older developers. Getting laid off in your 40s is a death sentence. You’ll never make as much money again, and you’ll be lucky to find employment. Be ready to retire by 50, because anything else is both risky and improbable.
To be a 50 year old engineer you would have had to start your career in the 90s. There weren't 10% of the number of SWE in the 90s as now. That's why you see the profession skew so young. I have seen no evidence of older engineers having trouble finding work.
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#373Earlier quoted context omitted.
I usually think actors, writers, athletes, doctors, lawyers.
Maybe it's a marketing issues. Actors and other have "Guilds", lawyers have a "Bar"... (sure the other two you mentioned have unions but...)
100% Agreed, and if we can combine that with some apprenticeships and minimum quifications for membership, I'm all in.
Just name it like something you'd find from DnD.
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#374Seriously, why people in tech are opposed to unions? In Europe, unions and Betriebsrat (works committee) are the norm. Why not in the US?
Google has a union. It costs thousands of dollars per year to join and primarily focuses on political issues like lobbying management not to pursue contracts with the US military.
And even if they had a good union, I fail to see how it would have prevented this.
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#375Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is a business relationship, but they always trying to convince employees that it is not. That it is a family, a friendship relationship. You should be reliable, you should help everyone in your "family". If you leave your "family" abruptly it is a kind of betrayal. Also funny is brainwashing employees to think that HR is their fried, that HR can help with issues at work. It is a business. Do minimum amount of work…
Honestly a very depressing outlook. If I would really think this way I wouldn’t wanna work in this industry. The only times I was really happy and motivated at work was when I was working within a team where we were really friends - I’m still in contact with most of them years after the fact and some became really close friends - this was outside of IT though. Your line of thinking seems to be common in the IT indust…
> Honestly a very depressing outlook. If I would really think this way I wouldn’t wanna work in this industry. The only times I was really happy and motivated at work was when I was working within a team where we were really friends - I’m still in contact with most of them years after the fact and some became really close friends - this was outside of IT though.
It's important to differentiate between colleagues and the business. The people you work with can become friends, but ultimately the business will do whatever sociopathic thing makes the number go up the faster/helps to deal with the crippling emotional turmoil of the execs.
You can be friends with the people you work with/for, but if there comes a time when the business and the people's interests diverge, the business will normally win. As long as you are aware of this, you can be OK throughout it (sortof, getting laid off really, really sucks).
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#376Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pissed me off when I realised you could use not Nest cameras nor doorbell if you have a Google Workspace account. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Cannot use them with a Google workspace account? Or cannot use them if you merely have a workspace account? The former seems like it might be reasonable (and I wouldn't want to lock a piece of home infrastructure to a workspace account anyway); the latter seems utterly insane.
Not a work workspace but our family workspace, so very unreasonable. They forced us all to migrate to that...
For many years Google Home with all the Nest speakers and displays have worked fine. But you are not allowed to use the nest cameras, thermostats, doorbells, etc with workspace accounts. Hence I regret buying those.
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#377My firm made billions last year too and just laid off hundreds of engineers (a decent %) Some of the best engineers, those that I respected the most, went. People who make no sense. After last year's layoffs they told us they were "done" and it was "all behind us". Last year then turned out to a better year financially than 2022 (we have access to the top line numbers) You can't trust anything anyone above you in the…
the overall tone and content of your post really reminded me of this song
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WngY-xti0lo
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#378I feel like layoffs are like a lot of bad habits. Once you break the seal, it becomes easier and easier to give yourself permission to do it again and with more frequency.
Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#379Earlier quoted context omitted.
> why dev salaries in EU and the UK are so abysmally low American dev salaries are the exception. It's the rest of the world where they're not outstanding.
I think they were the exception, the lay offs are likely execs realizing they can get the same or better by hiring someone remotely in a developing country to do the work. Not saying this is a better outcome for anyone specifically, but surely it's compelling?
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Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions
#380Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a European I'm curious which unions and industries are you talking about? I've been working tech or tech-adjacent jobs my entire life here and I've never been in a union nor do I know any friends (developers / designers) that are in a union. And I'm going to conferences and meetups on a regular. I'm not saying unions don't exist (probably more so in certain industries), but for devs to be in a union in Europe? Nev…
It’s very common in Norway. Many IT people are member of NITO (Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists) or Tekna (Norwegian Society of Graduate Technical and Scientific Professionals).
My estimate would be that at most 40-50% of developers are unionized in Norway (more for ops/IT-department workers). In Sweden that's more like 80%.
Even 40% makes a huge difference, though.