this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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Why widespread tech layoffs keep happening despite a strong U.S. economy::The number of tech sector layoffs in 2024 has been outpacing the number of terminations in 2023.

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 4 months ago

There’s also the stock market effect. Companies that conducted layoffs haven’t been punished, either by investors or on their bottom lines. In fact, they’ve been rewarded with rising stock prices.

I like how they portray this like it is a fluke and not literally what happens every time. You get rid of a bunch of workers and save money? Line goes up.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Because the economy is not good. That's why. The media wants to say it's good in hopes that by saying it, they can manifest it and make it so. But that's not how real life works.

[–] SlopppyEngineer 39 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Okay, this is outside looking in, but economic indicators seem to be all good. However, the spreading of the gains is what's totally wrong. It all flows the a small section of the population. Tax cuts for the rich and the like didn't help with that, and the richest people in the country are pushing for an even larger share of the gains.

[–] Badeendje 17 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The economic indicators are not indicators that work for the populace at large. We need better indicators.

Just look at china's economic growth. They have built entire ghost cities and values all they built at market prices, as if they where in hot demand. And this skyrocketed the economy. It was a massive ponzi scheme., but the numbers looked great.

In western Europe, housing is scares, skyrocketing the house prices, this adds to the value of the housing pool, in turn to the total value of the economy.. and we call if growth and increase in wealth. But no one who owns their house will be able to cash in that value increase until they die. Stupid indicator if you ask me.

[–] SlopppyEngineer 2 points 4 months ago

The indicators are correct. People are working very hard and money is flowing around. In this case it doesn't matter if that's sustainable growth are not, people are still working hard even if it is to build ghost cities.

But that other indicator like the Gini index is also correct. There is a lot of money earned but it doesn't go to the labor class. And that's where usually unions come in. In my country unions were started to negotiate because the labor class started to torch the mansions and factories of the owner class, sometimes with said owners still inside. Negotiations and some strikes were preferred above the torch and pitchfork style of handling things.

That's history of course, and especially in USA the owner class if very good at dividing and gaslighting the labor class to keep this from happening, so members of the labor class start pointing at ghost cities in China instead off what's happening and who's pulling their strings.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

It all depends on what you measure and what you don't.

Selective measuring of the economy will let you say whatever you want.

"More jobs!!!11!!1!1!!!1111!1!1!!!!!"

"More precarity and high turnover, high pressure, shit conditions, shit pay, shit flexibility, shit benefits, no real pension commitment, underemployment."

Even if all the measures do exist, you don't have to report them if they go against the narrative.

[–] Mojojojo1993 50 points 4 months ago

Answer most of these questions with.

Money. Obsessive greed

[–] [email protected] 32 points 4 months ago (3 children)

If they can’t even admit that the economy is BAD, I don’t feel the need to entertain their other opinions.

[–] balancedchaos 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's fascinating, how the media tries to prop up their "side" despite the obvious reality.

Fox News praising Trump during COVID (which he absolutely blundered), and now the left media saying we have a great economy when me and all my friends are slow at work. So slow it's concerning.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The economy looks to be good, but the tech sector isn't the economy. We're at the popping of another tech bubble as recently developed product lines aren't generating the returns that were expected of them. Outside of AI, there isn't a reason to invest in tech, so why people to develop in tech?

[–] balancedchaos 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

What looks good about the economy, out of curiosity.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Unemployment is still low. The stock market is still high. Inflation is down to below historic averages.

The raw numbers look good. And if you want to complain about inequality, unions have been winning major concessions in a lot of their contracts recently, so wages have been going up as well.

[–] webhead 1 points 4 months ago

Not to mention inequality isn't some new thing that's happening now. It's been happening for decades. It's not good but that doesn't mean the economy isn't doing well by the usual standards. We still need to do something about how shitty things are on that front but if we're trying to compare how the economy is doing compared to previous years, it's doing well.

The reason it feels bad imo is because money isn't free anymore so a lot of tech companies are laying people off. Also inflation wiped away many gains we all made with our salaries. We're doing better now, information stopped going out of control, but we're left with the shitty high prices that came with it and they aren't going down (because most of them are due to corporate greed, not real circumstances and costs).

[–] Snapz 16 points 4 months ago

To discipline labor

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Business criminals pumping up the bottom line ahead of earnings calls.