I'm in middleware/software, but on the cloud side of that (getting the legacy products to SaaS). There has definitely been a change over the last year, and more so every month really. Everything just seems to be in decline.
There used to be a lot of passionate cheerleading at least, but nobody, even the managers, seems to care. There isn't any funding or manpower for the things that need to get done, so they don't get done. More and more angry customers are being added to the list.
They were promised things - fixes, enhancements - in newer versions and that work isn't being done. We aren't keeping up with new things that should be added in order to keep up with the technology space and competition. People aren't showing up for meetings, or are clearly distracted and disengaged. Even the managers, or rather especially them.
The internal tooling that we use to get our jobs done is falling apart due to neglect, causing even more loss of productivity. It's kind of like everyone's milling around either waiting for a rescue ship to arrive, in the form of a change at the top or breakup/sale to a more energized and exciting new company, or else they're just passing time and collecting paychecks until the inevitable happens (RA/firing or something bad happens to their business unit or the company).
I think a lot have lost their love for the company, watching the horrible things it has done to us and our coworkers (and former ones) while rewarding themselves with massive bonuses, and seeing the lies and shams it is perpetrating on unsuspecting and naive customers and stockholders (the latest being this quantum marketing hype - let me know if anyone EVER gets access to that, if it even exists).
Ginni saying there are no "skills created by the educational system" when we are the skills, and eager to be retrained if necessary into those new areas.
I guess this is what happens when the death spiral has begun and the end is getting closer and closer.