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Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

nytimes.com

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Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#91

Post by nly »

andsoitis wrote: post #59
nly wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TINA when CPI inflation (in the UK) is has been 18% in just 2 years.

> TINA when CPI inflation (in the UK) is has been 18% in just 2 years. The UK inflation rate was 3.9 percent in November 2023, down from 4.6 percent in the previous month. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/306648/inflation-rate-co...

UK CPIH index value (includes cost of housing)

Nov 2021 - 114.1

Nov 2023 (latest value) - 130.0

So, 14%. 18% slightly out of date figure.

Cash in the bank, even at 5% rates, hasn't kept up.

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#93

Post by goodpoint »

vincnetas wrote: post #43
nly wrote: post #35

My 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…

And you know what happens with the money that you take, save and invest? They go in to public companies, they hire MBA's, and they try to improve profitability of company by letting engineers go. Your money have come a full cycle :)

> Your money have come a full cycle :)

Until the huge bubble around tech companies explodes.

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#94

Post by [deleted] »

andsoitis wrote: post #59
nly wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TINA when CPI inflation (in the UK) is has been 18% in just 2 years.

> TINA when CPI inflation (in the UK) is has been 18% in just 2 years. The UK inflation rate was 3.9 percent in November 2023, down from 4.6 percent in the previous month. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/306648/inflation-rate-co...

[deleted]

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#95

Post by ChatGTP »

wegfawefgawefg wrote: post #80
RishabhKharyal wrote: post #36

AI has increased productivity which might be a reason for it

I feel I am one of those developers that codes 100 times faster since ai tools came out. I was not slow before by the way. But now I can take a well defined interface and class example, ask gpt4 for a new well defined variant, and out it comes. one tweak and a test later its done. Some things that would have taken me weeks take days. And some things that used to take days take 1-3 hours. Novel work can't yet be autom…

You’re benchmarking yourself based on your own experience of course. Not to say this is horribly wrong but yeah, doesn’t tell the rest of us much about productivity.

Like saying that you run faster after a cup of coffee, cool ?

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#96

Post by Galanwe »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #83
nly wrote: post #35

My 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…

Better put, the relationship you have with your employer is a business relation ship. It's not personal. They are not your friends, nor your enemies. It's simply a convenient arrangement between the two of you for as long as that lasts. And it might become convenient for either side to change that arrangement at any point. The more you earn, the higher the risk that at some point somebody decides that they want to sp…

You should add more nuance I think.

While this is a respectable way to see employer / employee relationships, it does not apply to every company / employee out there.

In particular, I think this is very true for BigCo, where most people are seen as fungible cogs.

The smaller the company, the better.

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#97

Post by xyzzy123 »

JohnMakin wrote: post #53
ndepoel wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AI has increased the perception of productivity to unwitting managers, which is a dangerous pit to be falling into. It's like a lot of those fabled 10x engineers that I've run into over the years; they may seem like they're incredibly productive and managers love them, but in reality their work is so riddled with issues and rushed half-baked ideas, that they end up costing the other engineers on the team 10x the amou…

Is your assertion that 10x engineers don’t exist? Because I assure you that is false, regardless what your personal experiences may be.

I think a sizeable % of engineers can be 10x-ers as ICs / leads - but it's kind of an "in the zone" thing, when they're experienced in the stack and the product, can navigate the org, are motivated and aren't held back by issues with team or management (or personal issues etc).

But it's like growing plants, in the sense that it only takes one crucial element to be missing to limit growth (or "output").

I've met a few ppl who were _reliable_ 10xers (could navigate a much wider range of techs / domains / situations than others) but I've seen even the best crash and burn at times when the circumstances aren't right.

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#98

Post by mindwok »

I'm surprised to see so many comments here taking layoffs personally, or talking about how layoffs are stupid.

Layoffs are not personal, and the corollary to that is that you should never treat your company as a friend. It's a company trying to maximize value.

Also, layoffs do work. Almost every large, successful company has done them at some stage. They are an expected, and necessary, part of operating a company and responding to changing market conditions.

Yes, it sucks. They are not nice. But it's expected and it's helpful to remember that.

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#99

Post by infotainment »

sabellito wrote: post #55
steveridout wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting point but I don't think it's that clear cut. Twitter/X seemed to increase the pace of product changes directly after laying of the majority of its employees after Elon Musk took over. Also, when Steve Jobs returned to lead apple in 1997 he fired a significant fraction of the company before starting an incredible period of innovation. So I think a lot depends on the leadership and incentive structures.

Twitter has lost 70% of its value since Elon took over.

Important business lessons from Twitter: try not to antagonize your biggest customers, because they might stop buying your products.

In addition, if this occurs, make sure to blame external factors or wide-ranging conspiracies.

Re: Google Cuts Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions

#100

Post by jocaal »

jongjong wrote: post #61
TrackerFF wrote: post #41

Well, hopefully there's a silver lining to all this: Talented and underappreciated engineers (or those just caught in the crossfire of shitty policies) will go on and start new, more exciting companies.

Then they will realize that the media has been fully monopolized and can't find get any users and that it's not so easy outside of the cushy confines of Big Tech.

And then they will realize that the people complaining about big tech monopolies and their rent seeking behaviour were maybe not so crazy after all.
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