Hard to feel bad for anyone who chose to work at Amazon.
I am thrilled at how well compensated software engineers are in America, but frequently it's a short-sighted discussion when talking to my peers about it and a bulk of it is completely ignoring the stagnant wages and buying power of the now carved out middle class. Engineers I've talked to are against unions, and frequently lack the empathy for service workers and others in trade, or at least show a shallow level of empathy.
So when people are being laid off from Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon I can't help but lack any surprise or empathy for these people. I don't wish suffering, but I am completely indifferent to their discomfort. These companies are legitimately bad companies who have demonstrated a repeated lack of ethics, and now engineers are sad because they're finally being directly affected by these awful companies. These engineers and these companies enabled and abetted a race to the bottom in products and services across the board. They've created and normalized toxic work environments that have eaten away at people who have/had potential to create and do potential good for the world. They have chiseled away at so many good possibilities that this world had. I have nothing nice to say about these companies or these people.
It's a tale as old as time, and yet it's still frustrating to watch these people lament when leopards eat their face.
Why would you feel bad, everyone laid off at amazon in the US is likely in a drastically better position than employed devs in union shops or anyone working for a company in places with better labor protection such as the EU.
This is such a garbage generalization. I know plenty of people in the industry that are pro-Union, pro-DEI and think the Calacanis/Elon death-march nonsense is BS. Find better friends.
9 comments
[ 1.3 ms ] story [ 35.0 ms ] threadI am thrilled at how well compensated software engineers are in America, but frequently it's a short-sighted discussion when talking to my peers about it and a bulk of it is completely ignoring the stagnant wages and buying power of the now carved out middle class. Engineers I've talked to are against unions, and frequently lack the empathy for service workers and others in trade, or at least show a shallow level of empathy.
So when people are being laid off from Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon I can't help but lack any surprise or empathy for these people. I don't wish suffering, but I am completely indifferent to their discomfort. These companies are legitimately bad companies who have demonstrated a repeated lack of ethics, and now engineers are sad because they're finally being directly affected by these awful companies. These engineers and these companies enabled and abetted a race to the bottom in products and services across the board. They've created and normalized toxic work environments that have eaten away at people who have/had potential to create and do potential good for the world. They have chiseled away at so many good possibilities that this world had. I have nothing nice to say about these companies or these people.
It's a tale as old as time, and yet it's still frustrating to watch these people lament when leopards eat their face.