365
After ChatGPT disruption, Stack Overflow lays off 28 percent of staff
(arstechnica.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I've seen so far on Leemy today that a bunch of people have been laid off from Bandcamp, Stack Overflow and Linked In. What the shit. Did the industry just decide to shrink today or something
Q3 just ended. These layoffs are because the books are not looking good. Everyone is hurting with inflation and higher interest, tech being particularly vulnerable to high interest rates.
I can only hope the execs cut correctly. A second round of layoffs at a company can destroy morale enough to sink the company. Who wants to continue working at a place that fired your close peers, wondering if you're next?
You can already tell they didn't cut correctly, as they didn't cut themselves.
They may have cut themselves. Usually high level cuts are announced as "leaving for an amazing opportunity" or to "focus on family" or similar. That happens a month or two later after a deep layoff round and reorganizing. We'll see if these recent layoffs included executives by Q1 next year. Watch LinkedIn if you're that curious.
Still, it's unfair to the lower levels, including line management, because they don't get that option. It's a "thank you for your service" and a boot out the door.
Note: not all tech companies are like this. Gumroad is an excellent example of a very open and ran-differently business.