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Ask HN: What is the underlying factor behind the tech layoffs?

1 points by f0e4c2f7 ↗ HN
I've seen a lot of speculation about what's causing the tech layoffs but it's still not especially clear to me what the underlying cause is.

Particularly I've wondered why hiring seems to be going up in other industries but down in tech.

Higher interest rates seems like the most likely cause to me, but wouldn't that have the same impact on other industries?

Interested in HN's theory of mind on it.

7 comments

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nullindividual
Money closely followed by greed. The first one is why any layoff happens. The second one is when you see a large net profit by the company who performed the layoffs.
starside
Tech doesn't solve almost any real issue people have. Life is pretty much like it was in the 90s except more distracting.
znpy
The thing is, you’re mostly right.
jimswhims
It's helped a lot with paperwork, the way you can book trips, order and get stuff delivered, sign up for services online banking immediately etc.

But I agree with your point in that it's also highly overrated in terms of its importance generally, and largely distraction/entertainment based.

The real heavy lifters like running water and electricity, food production and transport, without which we'd devolve into chaos within 48 hours, are largely taken for granted.

People probably don't think about the fact that that every morning, you can get up in a nice heated house/apartment, use the toilet and not give it a second thought, have a hot shower and a nice breakfast, and that's probably more important than a lot of what, say, Facebook offers.

fullshark
Some companies are in legit trouble, unprofitable, were counting on VC funding and aren’t getting it in a high interest rate environment. Need to cut costs for longer runway / ipo.

The big tech / profitable companies are taking advantage of this and using opportunity to cut labor costs. Add to this the fact that they did overhire during pandemic, layoffs make sense.

jsz0
At just about every tech company I've worked at probably at least 30% of the staff wasn't really needed and didn't contribute much. They were there to take some small amount of workload off the really talented people's plate. In modern times there are more efficient ways to solve than problem than simply throwing man power at it. These companies could have easily cut their workforces 5 years ago with little to no impact to the bottom line but there was just no incentive to rock the boat until economic factors dictated it.
k310
Companies are responding to the AI hype cycle, investing (by laying people off) at the peak. If they were good at market timing, they’d he professional investors, not tech bro’s.

  Recent tech layoffs have left many questioning the industry’s stability. However, a closer look reveals that these layoffs are not a sign of economic struggles, but rather a strategic move by tech companies to realign their priorities and invest in the future. The tech sector is pouring billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI) while simultaneously implementing workforce reductions, signaling a deliberate shift in focus and strategy.
https://emt.gartnerweb.com/ngw/globalassets/en/articles/imag...

OPINION:

Generative AI may be headed for the trough of disillusionment.

When everyone and everything has it, what's the novelty? Made in China AI tchotchkes will be cheaper, and people will seek out things that add real meaning to life, instead of a computer-programmed existence (the dream of our sociopath tech-lords). Oh, that would be The Matrix.

And companies will beg techies ( and non-techies! ) to come back.