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The VC/Execs seem to have latched on to the idea of companies being overstaffed, and this narrative is being amplified by "tech influencers" as a way to explain

by pm90 4y ago

The VC/Execs seem to have latched on to the idea of companies being overstaffed, and this narrative is being amplified by "tech influencers" as a way to explain layoffs. Without data to back this claim, I'm gonna treat it as just another unfounded claim. A more plausible reason seems to simply be that companies have had their stock prices hammered, earnings fall off, and need to control costs, and for software companies, their main costs are people and infra. There is simply no need for the underperformer myth. Stop listening to VCs! Don't throw your coworkers under the bus.

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
> Without data to back this claim But, at least for a large subset of tech companies that have had layoffs, there is data to back up this claim. That is, many companies went on huge, gigantic, enormous hiring binges during the pandemic, often expecting a "new normal" in terms of overall spending on internet and other tech services. I mean, look at Twitter employment over time: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272140/employees-of-twitter/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/272140/employees-of-twit... . With the layoffs they'll be not much under pre-pandemic levels. Jack Dorsey even said he hired too fast: https://twitter.com/jack/status/1588913276980633600 https://twitter.com/jack/status/1588913276980633600. The same rationale was given by Patrick Collison for Stripe's layoffs: https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/ceo-patrick-collisons-email-to-stripe-employees https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/ceo-patrick-collisons-email...
Beltalowda 4y ago
> The VC/Execs seem to have latched on to the idea of companies being overstaffed, and this narrative is being amplified by "tech influencers" as a way to explain layoffs. Without data to back this claim, I'm gonna treat it as just another unfounded claim. I hate to be "that guy", but I've been saying the same thing for a few years, based on my observation that about a third of the software engineering staff does the vast majority of the actual useful work while the rest is playing around, not infrequently making life harder for the third of actually useful people. I don't have hard data, just anecdotal evidence. It's probably not a binary thing though: both could be true to some degree, and details will no doubt differ per company.

by pm90 4y ago

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago

> Without data to back this claim But, at least for a large subset of tech companies that have had layoffs, there is data to back up this claim. That is, many companies went on huge, gigantic, enormous hiring binges during the pandemic, often expecting a "new normal" in terms of overall spending on internet and other tech services. I mean, look at Twitter employment over time: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272140/employees-of-twitter/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/272140/employees-of-twit... . With the layoffs they'll be not much under pre-pandemic levels. Jack Dorsey even said he hired too fast: https://twitter.com/jack/status/1588913276980633600 https://twitter.com/jack/status/1588913276980633600. The same rationale was given by Patrick Collison for Stripe's layoffs: https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/ceo-patrick-collisons-email-to-stripe-employees https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/ceo-patrick-collisons-email...

Beltalowda 4y ago

> The VC/Execs seem to have latched on to the idea of companies being overstaffed, and this narrative is being amplified by "tech influencers" as a way to explain layoffs. Without data to back this claim, I'm gonna treat it as just another unfounded claim. I hate to be "that guy", but I've been saying the same thing for a few years, based on my observation that about a third of the software engineering staff does the vast majority of the actual useful work while the rest is playing around, not infrequently making life harder for the third of actually useful people. I don't have hard data, just anecdotal evidence. It's probably not a binary thing though: both could be true to some degree, and details will no doubt differ per company.