They want to decimate software engineering because after unionized government employees have been obliterated it’s the last well-paying job where employees sometimes feel bold enough to take principled stands against management.

It started with Visual Studio — the concept was to make programming “easy” enough for a manager to do it and cut out software engineers. Then it was off-shoring. Then it was coding bootcamps (note it isn’t software engineering bootcamps).

Now it’s AI.

The claims of efficiency or productivity are baloney. Companies demand RTO because it’s more satisfying for middle managers to throw their weight around IRL, not because commuting two hours to sit on Zoom calls is more efficient.

They care about control, not efficiency or productivity.