4 ms·

One round of layoffs at every company is just coming off the hiring bender of the last few years. But a second... that portends a third... and a general collap

One round of layoffs at every company is just coming off the hiring bender of the last few years. But a second... that portends a third... and a general collapse of tech a la the dotcom crash. I had't been too worried yet, despite feeling lucky to have dodged the customary 7% at my company, but this news is starting to make me worry. Hopefully it's just Meta being in a uniquely bad position.

deleted 4y ago
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hackernewds 4y ago
The layoffs are nowhere near the level of even appearing in a histogram against the hiring that overwhelmed 2021/22. Where this doomering comes from must be the plain human temptation to glorify misery.
- twelve40 4y ago
  Both this hiring-like-there-is-no-tomorrow and, a few short months later, layoffs "because the economy has changed" indicate lack of any sanity in business planning. Sure, most of these people will probably eventually find other jobs, but the randomness of these ups and downs in presumably mature companies is pretty disturbing.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    My more pessimistic take is that this style of business planning is actually planned, in that companies knew what they were doing was risky but knew they could just layoff people, as they have readily done. It is a plain as day showcase of companies treating employees as their greatest costs and liabilities rather than assets.
    - twelve40 4y ago
      But in what demented mind do you temporarily hire tens of thousands of extremely expensive and highly skilled workers (to do what?) and then wipe out all those projects in a year? Even if you treat people as completely disposable garbage, it doesn't even make any sense in terms of projects, to urgently come up with projects for 10k+ people then urgently cancel them. Again, these are decades-old, established, money-making companies.
      - bmitc 4y ago
        I actually agree with your analysis, too. It must honestly be both a case of treating employees as liabilities and idiotic planning. I have never understood layoffs, especially where the companies start re-hiring immediately after. I was at a startup that did insane hiring and then performed layoffs. They pitched it as employees not performing, but what had really happened is that the upper management overhired because of growth hype and then never correctly trained and onboarded employees. I didn't get laid off, but I literally got moved from one team to a new team only for the new team to be disbanded and merged back into my original team, all within like four months. Even with all that going on, I got switched between projects like every month. Like, how is your planning that bad that that happens?
drstewart 4y ago
A first portends a second which portends a third which portends the collapse of tech which portends the collapse of the global economy which portends nuclear war which portends the extinction of the human race. Now the 7% at your company has me truly worried.
ulfw 4y ago
It is the dotcom crash again. Everyone laying off is not normal. And everyone is laying off. Round 2 already for some. And this is just the beginning.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

hackernewds 4y ago

The layoffs are nowhere near the level of even appearing in a histogram against the hiring that overwhelmed 2021/22. Where this doomering comes from must be the plain human temptation to glorify misery.

twelve40 4y ago
Both this hiring-like-there-is-no-tomorrow and, a few short months later, layoffs "because the economy has changed" indicate lack of any sanity in business planning. Sure, most of these people will probably eventually find other jobs, but the randomness of these ups and downs in presumably mature companies is pretty disturbing.
- bmitc 4y ago
  My more pessimistic take is that this style of business planning is actually planned, in that companies knew what they were doing was risky but knew they could just layoff people, as they have readily done. It is a plain as day showcase of companies treating employees as their greatest costs and liabilities rather than assets.
  - twelve40 4y ago
    But in what demented mind do you temporarily hire tens of thousands of extremely expensive and highly skilled workers (to do what?) and then wipe out all those projects in a year? Even if you treat people as completely disposable garbage, it doesn't even make any sense in terms of projects, to urgently come up with projects for 10k+ people then urgently cancel them. Again, these are decades-old, established, money-making companies.
    - bmitc 4y ago
      I actually agree with your analysis, too. It must honestly be both a case of treating employees as liabilities and idiotic planning. I have never understood layoffs, especially where the companies start re-hiring immediately after. I was at a startup that did insane hiring and then performed layoffs. They pitched it as employees not performing, but what had really happened is that the upper management overhired because of growth hype and then never correctly trained and onboarded employees. I didn't get laid off, but I literally got moved from one team to a new team only for the new team to be disbanded and merged back into my original team, all within like four months. Even with all that going on, I got switched between projects like every month. Like, how is your planning that bad that that happens?

drstewart 4y ago

A first portends a second which portends a third which portends the collapse of tech which portends the collapse of the global economy which portends nuclear war which portends the extinction of the human race. Now the 7% at your company has me truly worried.

ulfw 4y ago

It is the dotcom crash again. Everyone laying off is not normal. And everyone is laying off. Round 2 already for some. And this is just the beginning.