Nothing wrong with what you describe, all successful long running projects stink up. I would look into the “strangler pattern” and start from there. Once the te

Nothing wrong with what you describe, all successful long running projects stink up. I would look into the “strangler pattern” and start from there. Once the team understands the benefits of clean code they will give their full backing and you will he able to gradually evolve the codebase and practices. Resistance to change comes when people feel threatened. These “junior” developers have been maintaining a cash cow for quite some time. I would change the wording and intended actions in such way that they understand they will also benefit from upcoming changes in tech and practice. Those that are genuinely dicks should be let go but only after they’ve been given a genuine chance.