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This reads to me almost like saying “Why are pigs not avoiding the most problematic slaughterhouses?” A. We have to work somewhere, and in 2026 honestly it’s a

by xp84 6mo ago

This reads to me almost like saying “Why are pigs not avoiding the most problematic slaughterhouses?” A. We have to work somewhere, and in 2026 honestly it’s actually the employer’s market which is kinda new to me, as someone who always just passively waited until an interesting job offer fell in my lap. B. They all pretty much work the same. Everywhere is “like a family” and “cares about sustainability” and all, until either your VC money starts to run low and you sell to PE or liquidate, or, for your big techs, layoff season comes around and you need to show that you’re willing to cut costs with the best of them, so you pick a random 4-5 digit number to lay off for the investors.

nytesky 6mo ago
I thought post Netflix the model had switched to “we’re a team, not a family” — like in MLB? https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-company-culture-document-1202474529/ https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-company-cultur...
s_dev 6mo ago
>This reads to me almost like saying “Why are pigs not avoiding the most problematic slaughterhouses?” I don't think that's a fair comparison. Pigs are literally reared for slaughter and have no autonomy. Employees can and do choose these companies completely of their own volition.
- RHSeeger 6mo ago
  > Employees can and do choose these companies completely of their own volition. Except for the part where, some of the time, it's "this company, or I can't buy food or pay my rent".
  - erulabs 6mo ago
    I think you have to squint pretty hard to think that's the case in software engineering. LA Times suggests there are 6.9 million job openings (1). I don't think it's reasonable to suggest that anyone who wants a job in tech should get one otherwise its a humanitarian crisis. In fact, I'd say it's beyond unreasonable to suggest that. Still, I do feel bad for younger folks trying to break into the industry - but "work for cloudflare or go hungry" is beyond a stretch. 1. http://latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-05-05/u-s-job-openings-were-unchanged-at-6-9-million-in-march-but-hiring-improved http://latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-05-05/u-s-job-ope... Edit: Cloudflare is paying out terminated employees thru the end of 2026, imagining this is a case of people going hungry requires some very serious ideological capture.
    - usefulcat 6mo ago
      > Cloudflare is paying out terminated employees thru the end of 2026 That's great that they're doing that, but it's absolutely not guaranteed, either in this particular case (prior to this announcement, i.e. when these people were hired) or in general. But all of this ignores the more general point, which is that--for reasons which may or may not be their fault--some people are not in a good situation financially and for them being laid off is a big deal with very real risks. Just because that's not you doesn't mean it's not a real thing.
    - RHSeeger 6mo ago
      > Cloudflare is paying out terminated employees thru the end of 2026, imagining this is a case of people going hungry requires some very serious ideological capture We were talking about the people interviewing and picking jobs in general, not specifically ones that had been laid off from CF. > I think you have to squint pretty hard to think that's the case in software engineering. Maybe not right now (though I imagine that varies a lot even now). But I've been there. I've gone from making plenty of money to 100k+ in debt and having less money in the bank than I need to pay the rent + buy food next month. Admittedly, that was after the dotcom bubble; but it left me with a mindset of not assuming everyone has a choice to work at the company they want to. Sometimes you need a job, and being picky about which one you choose isn't always an option.
      - erulabs 6mo ago
        Huge gulf between "sometimes you need a job" and "employees are pigs to the slaughter". "I've gone from making plenty of money to 100k+ in debt and having less money in the bank than I need to pay the rent + buy food next month" is pretty intense. I'm sorry you went through that, but if you get ~7 months of paid time to job search and still wind up 100k in debt, there are definitely other problems. I don't think it's at all fair to characterize getting laid off from an extremely highly paid job as a humanitarian crisis. Should tech companies hire more slowly and carefully? Yes, definitely. Does that actually help employees? I'm not sure, in this case they're getting paid more than they would have had they not been hired at all. Are there plenty of jobs available outside of software? Yes.
- buran77 6mo ago
  > Employees can and do choose What criteria would you use? Companies that don't do mass layoffs excludes all big-tech. What makes you think that "seriously inquiring about such practices in interviews or at the application stage" will get an honest answer?
  - nickff 6mo ago
    Maybe the answer is that choosing 'big tech' implicitly prioritizes salary over stability. Many people (even on HN) work at places other than FAANG (or whatever counts as big tech these days).

by xp84 6mo ago

nytesky 6mo ago

I thought post Netflix the model had switched to “we’re a team, not a family” — like in MLB? https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-company-culture-document-1202474529/ https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-company-cultur...

s_dev 6mo ago

>This reads to me almost like saying “Why are pigs not avoiding the most problematic slaughterhouses?” I don't think that's a fair comparison. Pigs are literally reared for slaughter and have no autonomy. Employees can and do choose these companies completely of their own volition.

RHSeeger 6mo ago
> Employees can and do choose these companies completely of their own volition. Except for the part where, some of the time, it's "this company, or I can't buy food or pay my rent".
- erulabs 6mo ago
  I think you have to squint pretty hard to think that's the case in software engineering. LA Times suggests there are 6.9 million job openings (1). I don't think it's reasonable to suggest that anyone who wants a job in tech should get one otherwise its a humanitarian crisis. In fact, I'd say it's beyond unreasonable to suggest that. Still, I do feel bad for younger folks trying to break into the industry - but "work for cloudflare or go hungry" is beyond a stretch. 1. http://latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-05-05/u-s-job-openings-were-unchanged-at-6-9-million-in-march-but-hiring-improved http://latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-05-05/u-s-job-ope... Edit: Cloudflare is paying out terminated employees thru the end of 2026, imagining this is a case of people going hungry requires some very serious ideological capture.
  - usefulcat 6mo ago
    > Cloudflare is paying out terminated employees thru the end of 2026 That's great that they're doing that, but it's absolutely not guaranteed, either in this particular case (prior to this announcement, i.e. when these people were hired) or in general. But all of this ignores the more general point, which is that--for reasons which may or may not be their fault--some people are not in a good situation financially and for them being laid off is a big deal with very real risks. Just because that's not you doesn't mean it's not a real thing.
  - RHSeeger 6mo ago
    > Cloudflare is paying out terminated employees thru the end of 2026, imagining this is a case of people going hungry requires some very serious ideological capture We were talking about the people interviewing and picking jobs in general, not specifically ones that had been laid off from CF. > I think you have to squint pretty hard to think that's the case in software engineering. Maybe not right now (though I imagine that varies a lot even now). But I've been there. I've gone from making plenty of money to 100k+ in debt and having less money in the bank than I need to pay the rent + buy food next month. Admittedly, that was after the dotcom bubble; but it left me with a mindset of not assuming everyone has a choice to work at the company they want to. Sometimes you need a job, and being picky about which one you choose isn't always an option.
    - erulabs 6mo ago
      Huge gulf between "sometimes you need a job" and "employees are pigs to the slaughter". "I've gone from making plenty of money to 100k+ in debt and having less money in the bank than I need to pay the rent + buy food next month" is pretty intense. I'm sorry you went through that, but if you get ~7 months of paid time to job search and still wind up 100k in debt, there are definitely other problems. I don't think it's at all fair to characterize getting laid off from an extremely highly paid job as a humanitarian crisis. Should tech companies hire more slowly and carefully? Yes, definitely. Does that actually help employees? I'm not sure, in this case they're getting paid more than they would have had they not been hired at all. Are there plenty of jobs available outside of software? Yes.
buran77 6mo ago
> Employees can and do choose What criteria would you use? Companies that don't do mass layoffs excludes all big-tech. What makes you think that "seriously inquiring about such practices in interviews or at the application stage" will get an honest answer?
- nickff 6mo ago
  Maybe the answer is that choosing 'big tech' implicitly prioritizes salary over stability. Many people (even on HN) work at places other than FAANG (or whatever counts as big tech these days).