a lot of tech companies approached hiring from an anti-competitive perspective. they hired staff they didn't need, in order to keep them off the market and pul

a lot of tech companies approached hiring from an anti-competitive perspective. they hired staff they didn't need, in order to keep them off the market and pull the oxygen out of the room for startups that might eventually threaten their dominance in the 5-10 year timescale. the old "rest and vest" type thing. companies are now reducing headcount down to a level that's more commensurate with actual business needs. same thing happened in the 2000s... mass layoffs resulted in a wave of new startups and competitors in the 5-10 year timescale. forest fires clean out the accumulated undergrowth and allow a new lifecycle to begin. not to imply that it sucks any less for anyone who lost their job, but, this is a release of anticompetitive pressure and it'll probably be a long-term net positive for the market overall.