Leadership has offered little explanation for the layoffs to those of us who remain on the job, or any indication of when they intend to stop eliminating roles by the hundreds and thousands. It’s clear that we, the workers, are being made to pay for the mistakes of management. We don’t structure the company or produce its financial projections. We build the products and services that make the company profitable in the first place.
Meanwhile, we come to work and see the chaos, frustration and instability that these layoffs leave in their wake. The generalized fear that your entire team might be the next to vanish overnight is not great for productivity and innovation. We watch with heavy hearts as our former colleagues struggle to find new jobs in an ever-tightening market for tech workers.
This generation’s tech giants were built on the premise that maintaining a happy workforce drives innovation, which in turn drives profit. It’s a myth that for too long has kept us, as technology workers, from organizing and acting collectively in our own interest. This has left us all painfully vulnerable to the new reality of sweeping layoffs, replacement of roles with temp and contract workers who don’t receive nearly the benefits and compensation they deserve, and the growing corporate enthusiasm around artificial intelligence.
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/4427673-mass-layoffs-are-becoming-the-norm-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself/