If you work at one of the large tech companies that, in the last few weeks [or months], have laid off thousands of employees, you may be wondering what the hell is going on. Especially if the company you’re working for is not actually struggling economically right now. If you work for Google, say, you must be thinking, “What is it about the coming recession that makes a company that’s doing just fine institute broad layoffs for the first time in its 23-year history?”
The answer, my friend, is class warfare.
I was laid off in March of this year. The company didn’t over hire during COVID. We lost a few people right at the start and slowly hired replacements towards the end. It was completely unexpected. The company was doing great and my team was responsible for maintaining and continuing development of a product that was still making millions. I was laid off with a few other incredibly valuable members of the team, some of which had been with the company long before the team was bought from previous management.
I’ll never understand why it happened, and it was a very stressful time to happen so unexpectedly. Thankfully I recovered and got a pay bump but still, what the fuck.
If your company was publicly traded, the answers may be out there. They are beholden to shareholders and your board of directors.