4 ms·

I think it's a huge mistake. The great labor shortage is just beginning. You can thank the retiring boomers for that. (And I hope they enjoy their retirement!)

blamazon 4y ago
There is no way to make a mistake here because there are essentially no consequences -- entities of this scale can rehire as easily as they fire. At a lower average compensation rate too, most likely. These companies are basically refinancing their labor force using cruelty and fear. It is working because they're all doing it, because we let them. System working as intended.
- juve1996 4y ago
  > At a lower average compensation rate too, most likely. highly doubt it. The labor force is shrinking. There's already a dearth of talented software devs. And then there will be huge upward pressure on wages from lower level jobs that now have to pay 20$ an hour to get workers.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - ramphastidae 4y ago
    People have been saying that for 50 years and it hasn’t happened in the US. Upward pressure on wages will result in interest rate increases to manufacture unemployment and keep wages down.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - juve1996 4y ago
      It's happening right now, in front of our very eyes, as predicted. Once the population shifted, it would happen. Here we are, take it in.
- zeroonetwothree 4y ago
  > entities of this scale can rehire as easily as they fire. It's not exactly true. It actually takes quite a long time to hire competent employees, particularly more senior ones. Hence why it was so hard to hire in 2020-2021.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
vikingerik 4y ago
There is no such thing as a labor shortage. There are just insufficient wages.
- politician 4y ago
  This statement is missing qualifiers. Consider the extreme counter-example: A small village of a dozen individuals sitting a top a mountain of gold is unlikely to be able to operate an industrial scale gold mining operation. There can be too few people to do certain work. Nuclear plant operators. Ordinance disposal experts. Electricians in my area...
  - pksebben 4y ago
    but hold on. "not having people" and "not having people with the skills you need" are different in this regard. Offering more money won't make more people, but it will motivate people to learn skills.
    - lesuorac 4y ago
      Sure but in the interim (while they're learning skills) you don't have as many as you want of nuclear reactor operators AKA a labor shortage. Whether or not the real world has a true labor shortage or just a shortage for the current market price is not shown. i.e. if you offered more wages would some stay at home parents meet the demand?
- ProAm 4y ago
  There is a shortage of qualified and decent labor. Bodies <> Labor
- refurb 4y ago
  That isnt true. If the demand for brain surgeons doubled overnight, no amount of wage hike is going to magically double the supply of brain surgeons.
  - zeroonetwothree 4y ago
npteljes 4y ago
In what way is it a mistake? Do you mean that the companies will suffer for it?
zeroonetwothree 4y ago
How many tech employees are boomers though? The youngest boomers today are 59 and IME 99% of tech employees are <55. Indeed I'd be surprised if boomers retiring had any significant effect on tech given most of them have already retired.

blamazon 4y ago

There is no way to make a mistake here because there are essentially no consequences -- entities of this scale can rehire as easily as they fire. At a lower average compensation rate too, most likely. These companies are basically refinancing their labor force using cruelty and fear. It is working because they're all doing it, because we let them. System working as intended.

juve1996 4y ago
> At a lower average compensation rate too, most likely. highly doubt it. The labor force is shrinking. There's already a dearth of talented software devs. And then there will be huge upward pressure on wages from lower level jobs that now have to pay 20$ an hour to get workers.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ramphastidae 4y ago
  People have been saying that for 50 years and it hasn’t happened in the US. Upward pressure on wages will result in interest rate increases to manufacture unemployment and keep wages down.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - juve1996 4y ago
    It's happening right now, in front of our very eyes, as predicted. Once the population shifted, it would happen. Here we are, take it in.
zeroonetwothree 4y ago
> entities of this scale can rehire as easily as they fire. It's not exactly true. It actually takes quite a long time to hire competent employees, particularly more senior ones. Hence why it was so hard to hire in 2020-2021.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

vikingerik 4y ago

There is no such thing as a labor shortage. There are just insufficient wages.

politician 4y ago
This statement is missing qualifiers. Consider the extreme counter-example: A small village of a dozen individuals sitting a top a mountain of gold is unlikely to be able to operate an industrial scale gold mining operation. There can be too few people to do certain work. Nuclear plant operators. Ordinance disposal experts. Electricians in my area...
- pksebben 4y ago
  but hold on. "not having people" and "not having people with the skills you need" are different in this regard. Offering more money won't make more people, but it will motivate people to learn skills.
  - lesuorac 4y ago
    Sure but in the interim (while they're learning skills) you don't have as many as you want of nuclear reactor operators AKA a labor shortage. Whether or not the real world has a true labor shortage or just a shortage for the current market price is not shown. i.e. if you offered more wages would some stay at home parents meet the demand?
ProAm 4y ago
There is a shortage of qualified and decent labor. Bodies <> Labor
refurb 4y ago
That isnt true. If the demand for brain surgeons doubled overnight, no amount of wage hike is going to magically double the supply of brain surgeons.
- zeroonetwothree 4y ago

npteljes 4y ago

In what way is it a mistake? Do you mean that the companies will suffer for it?

zeroonetwothree 4y ago

How many tech employees are boomers though? The youngest boomers today are 59 and IME 99% of tech employees are <55. Indeed I'd be surprised if boomers retiring had any significant effect on tech given most of them have already retired.