Big Tech Companies vs. Software Developers | Tech Layoffs In 2024
Summary
TLDRTech layoffs have been in the news, with profitable companies firing developers who contribute to their success. This video by Trisha G on the Continuous Delivery Channel discusses the cyclical nature of layoffs, the motivations behind them, and how developers can protect their careers. Key advice includes keeping resumes updated, being active in the tech community, building a strong portfolio, and carefully choosing jobs that align with personal goals. The focus is on self-empowerment and career control in uncertain times.
Takeaways
- 🔄 Tech layoffs are cyclical, with previous waves seen around 2000 (dot-com crash) and 2007-2008 (credit crunch).
- 💼 Recent layoffs are occurring in large, profitable tech firms, which raises questions about their necessity.
- 🤑 Leaders and founders of these companies are extremely wealthy, making layoffs seem less about cost-cutting.
- 📉 Some companies not making layoffs still see stock price drops, suggesting layoffs are about appeasing investors.
- 😔 Layoffs indicate that developers are seen as replaceable, regardless of their contributions.
- 📈 Evidence shows that job security is not guaranteed by meeting objectives or delivering business value.
- 💪 Developers must take control of their own career growth, as companies won't prioritize it.
- 📝 Keeping your resume updated is crucial for career preparedness and self-assessment.
- 👥 Engaging in the technical community, such as user groups, can provide networking and learning opportunities.
- 📂 Maintaining a portfolio, like a GitHub profile or blog, is important for showcasing skills and experience.
- 🤔 When choosing a new job, consider your personal values and needs, such as stability or excitement.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video script?
-The main topic discussed in the video script is the issue of tech layoffs, particularly focusing on the layoffs in large, profitable technology firms and the implications for developers.
Why does the speaker believe that the current round of tech layoffs is different from previous ones?
-The speaker believes the current round of tech layoffs is different because it involves large, profitable firms laying off the very staff who generated those profits, which was not the case in previous layoffs.
What does the speaker suggest is the real reason behind the tech layoffs?
-The speaker suggests that the real reason behind the tech layoffs is not cost-cutting but rather a message to investors and shareholders that the companies are willing to do whatever it takes to be profitable, including firing their best people.
What is the speaker's opinion on the effectiveness of the layoffs as a cost-cutting measure?
-The speaker's opinion is that the layoffs are an ineffective cost-cutting exercise, as they have seen developers being fired and then rehired at a lower salary, which does not seem to be a genuine cost-saving strategy.
Why does the speaker think tech organizations that are not making layoffs might be facing a drop in their stock price?
-The speaker theorizes that tech organizations not making layoffs might face a drop in their stock price because they are not signaling to investors that they are willing to make drastic changes, such as layoffs, to maintain profitability.
What advice does the speaker give to developers regarding their career and job security?
-The speaker advises developers to take control of their own careers, to ensure their resumes are up to date, to be active in the technical community, to build a portfolio, and to carefully consider what they want in a job, especially in the current economic climate.
What role do user groups play in a developer's career according to the speaker?
-According to the speaker, user groups play a significant role in a developer's career by providing a safe environment to try new things, meet great people, receive advice, and potentially discover job opportunities.
Why is it important for developers to have an updated resume or CV?
-It is important for developers to have an updated resume or CV not only for job applications but also as a way to reflect on their learning and skills development over time, which can help them identify if their current job meets their needs.
What is the significance of having a portfolio for a developer's career?
-Having a portfolio, such as a GitHub profile or a blog, is significant for a developer's career as it provides a more comprehensive representation of their skills and experiences beyond what can be conveyed in a traditional resume.
What factors should a developer consider when choosing a new job?
-A developer should consider factors such as job stability, the company's culture, the match with their career goals, and the potential for growth and learning opportunities when choosing a new job.
How does the speaker feel about the support developers receive from their companies during layoffs?
-The speaker feels that companies do not genuinely care about their developers during layoffs and are not supportive of their career growth, emphasizing that developers must be their own champions.
Outlines
💼 Tech Layoffs and Developer Self-Advocacy
The script addresses the issue of tech layoffs, particularly focusing on the paradox of profitable companies letting go of the very developers who generate their income. It discusses the cyclical nature of such events, referencing past economic downturns like the dot-com crash and the 2007-2008 credit crunch. The speaker, Trisha G, expresses her opinion that the current wave of layoffs is different, as it involves wealthy tech leaders who seemingly have the means to retain their staff. She criticizes the practice of rehiring previously laid-off developers at lower salaries, calling it an ineffective cost-cutting measure. Trisha also theorizes that the layoffs might be a signal to investors and shareholders about a company's commitment to profitability at any cost, including sacrificing valuable employees. She suggests that developers should consider discussing their value and contributions more openly with their employers.
🛠 Empowering Developers to Control Their Careers
In this paragraph, Trisha emphasizes the importance of developers taking control of their careers in the face of unpredictable job security. She advises updating one's resume regularly to reflect new skills and experiences, which can also serve as a self-assessment tool to identify career gaps or desires for change. Trisha also highlights the value of being an active member of the technical community, such as participating in user groups, which can provide networking opportunities, advice, and a platform to try new things. She discusses the importance of having a portfolio that showcases one's work beyond the limitations of a traditional resume, suggesting platforms like GitHub, Stack Overflow, or blogging as potential avenues. Lastly, Trisha touches on the considerations developers should make when seeking new job opportunities, such as prioritizing stability or excitement, and the importance of being prepared for a dynamic job market.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Tech layoffs
💡Dot-com crash
💡Credit crunch
💡Cost cutting
💡Developers
💡Investors and shareholders
💡Resume or CV
💡Technical community
💡Portfolio
💡Career control
Highlights
Tech layoffs have been in the news, with profitable companies firing the developers who made them money, raising questions about fairness.
Layoffs are cyclical in the tech industry, with previous downturns occurring around the turn of the century and during the 2007-2008 credit crunch.
This round of layoffs is different, as it involves large, profitable firms letting go of staff who generated their profits.
Leaders and founders of these organizations are among the wealthiest, yet they are laying off staff, which seems counterintuitive to cost-cutting.
Developers have been rehired at lower salaries after being laid off, suggesting a flawed cost-cutting approach.
The stock price of tech firms plummets even when they meet financial targets and avoid layoffs, indicating a possible market expectation of layoffs.
Layoffs may be a signal to investors that companies are willing to do whatever it takes to be profitable, including firing top talent.
Developers are often considered replaceable, which can be a wake-up call to reassess one's value and role in the industry.
The speaker suggests that having a conversation about value addition might be a better approach than mass layoffs.
Individuals cannot control company layoffs but can take steps to control their career trajectory.
Maintaining an up-to-date resume is crucial for job applications and self-assessment of skills and experiences.
Being an active part of the technical community, such as user groups, can accelerate one's career and provide networking opportunities.
A portfolio, such as GitHub profiles or a blog, is essential for showcasing one's abilities beyond a traditional resume.
When selecting a new job, it's important to consider what one values, such as stability or excitement, in the current economic climate.
Owning one's career and being prepared to adapt is key to navigating the uncertainties of the job market.
The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to support the channel on Patreon.
Transcripts
for the last year or so Tech layoffs
have been in the news large money-making
organizations firing the very developers
who make them that money is it fair and
what can we as developers do about
[Music]
it hello I'm Trisha G welcome to the
continuous delivery Channel where we
have opinions on technology if you want
to hear more opinions please subscribe
and if you like this particular opinion
please hit like layoffs do happen we
have seen this before back in 2000
around the turn of the century there was
the dot crash I was graduating from
University at the time and trying to
find a job in Tech was
challenging then around about 2007 2008
the credit crunch happened just as I was
moving back from New York to London
trying to get a job in a bank or fintech
doing development people have been in
the industry long enough will tell you
this is cyclical there's boom and bust
sometimes you have layoffs and sometimes
times are good for
developers however this round of layoffs
is a little bit different in this case
it's large profitable technology firms
who are laying off the staff who make
those profits this leads me to have
opinions on the
topic some of the leaders and founders
of these organizations are some of the
richest men in the world you would think
they would have a little bit of Pocket
Change l lying around to retain their
developers and pay them Fair salaries
these developers are the people who
helped them to make money in the first
place we've heard of developers being
fired from a particular job and then 2
months later being hired back on a
smaller salary this I don't think this
is cost cutting this is I don't think
I'm allowed to swear on this channel
this is an ineffective cost cutting
exercise I've also seen organizations
Tech organizations who are not making
layoff
who hit all their financial targets
meeting all their objectives and yet
their stock price plummets my theory is
because they're not making layoffs what
does this tell me this suggests to me
that the layoffs are not about cost
cutting they are about telling their
investors and their shareholders yes
we're willing to do whatever it takes to
be profitable even if that means firing
some of our very best people it's also a
way to tell us the developers you're not
really that important you are repl able
have there been times when we've been
overpaid and
underutilized it's possible but I don't
think that firing all of us is the right
way to teach us a lesson I think perhaps
having a conversation about value and
value ad might be a good place to start
however strongly I feel about these
layoffs I can't do anything about them
sadly and unless you are a leader of one
of these very large organizations you
probably can't either so I want to spend
the rest of this video telling you what
maybe you can do in order to control
control your career a little more before
I do that I want to take a second to
thank our sponsors equal experts transic
and semore these are companies that
produce services and products that are
well aligned with what we talk about in
The Continuous delivery Channel please
take a look and click on the links in
the description below so what have we
learned from these layoffs well I have
learned that these companies are not
here for you at all these companies are
here for them and they will drop you
like modern programming languages drop
the semi call on when it suits them can
you protect yourself from being laid off
if you work for one of these companies
or you think your job is at risk I mean
they will tell you as long as you meet
the objectives as long as you work hard
put in the hours deliver business value
as long as you play the game then you're
a little bit safer than you would have
been but I think evidence shows us from
2023 and 2024 that a little bit safer
doesn't mean anything whatsoever and if
a company decides to actx an entire
department or an entire organization no
matter how good your code is you're not
going to be safe from that these layoffs
are ultimately not about you at all it's
not about your ability to write good
code it's not about the amount of hours
that you put in it's about the company's
ability to Showcase that they're willing
to do whatever it takes to make more
money these companies never cared about
you they were never going to support
your career growth the only person who
can really support you throughout your
career development is you you're the
only person who's going to be there for
the whole time throughout your career
you're the only person who hopefully has
an inkling on what is good for you where
do you want to go what are the right
directions for you to take what steps
can you take well the first thing the
first most important step in my opinion
is to make sure that your resume or CV
is up toate obviously if your job goes
away you can now give that resumé to
someone else to perhaps apply for a new
job however it's also a useful exercise
in its own right it's always a good idea
to take a look at what you've done over
the last 12 months or 2 years or 10
years however long it is since you last
refreshed your resume and see what have
I learned since then what new skills and
abilities do I have what new things do I
get to put onto my CV to Showcase to
people what I'm good at you may find
during this exercise that not only do
you have a CV to give to someone if you
happen to need to apply for a new job
you might find that the job that you're
in is actually not meeting your own
needs and you can use that resume to
apply to somewhere which does meet your
needs another step you can take which I
think is really important is to be an
active part of the technical community
if you're subscribed to this channel
you're already well on the way to being
part of the technical community you are
learning and growing and actively
involving yourself in what's out there
I'm a big fan of user groups for me in
particular Java user groups these are
places where I have really helped
accelerate my career I've met a lot of
great people I've had a lot of great
advice and allow it has provided me a
safe environment to try new things to
level up if you have a local user group
in your city that local user group
allows you to meet people who are
working on the same sorts of things as
you in different organizations in your
city and you get to hear what are these
people working on what is it like to
work there are they hiring it's a good
way to get out there and see what else
is there another important thing to
consider is your portfolio your CV or
resume should be what two pages long
this is not a great way to represent
someone whether you've got 6 months
experience or 20 years experience a
two-page resume doesn't really give a
good idea of who you are a portfolio is
something like GitHub profiles or stack
Overflow profiles or part being part of
social media or being active on LinkedIn
or having blogs or whatever else we do
these days it doesn't have to be all of
those things pick one of those things
which plays to your strengths if you
write a lot of code in your spare time
by all means put it on GitHub if you
like to write about what you've been
doing then maybe start a blog I have a
lot of advice on this topic and a lot of
advice on how to create a portfolio and
like why and where and what it's for and
if you're interested in that click on
the links Below in the description
because I've got blog posts and
presentations on that topic the last
thing I want to talk about is when you
decide to take that step to select a new
job you have to think carefully about
what it is that you want now in these
interesting Economic Times you might not
be in a position to choose but if you
have any choice at all you should be
steering yourself towards something
which works for you for example do you
value stability in which case you're
going to apply to a particular type of
company with a particular type of job
and those are the things you're going to
say yes to if you want stability to
provide for your family or whatever it
is that you need a steady income for if
you want excitement and new things and a
changeable environment where you're
going to be doing lots of different
things then maybe you're going for
something like a startup where stability
might not be so much part of the of the
appeal of that that's fine too this is
more likely to appeal to people who
perhaps don't have dependents who rely
on their salary all of these things are
fine just be aware of the of the pros
and cons of both things obviously
stability comes with possibly stability
but as we're seeing with the layoffs
that's not guaranteed either and the new
and exciting and shiny maybe the job
won't be there next month but as long as
you're prepared to keep looking and keep
moving if necessary you should be in a
good position whatever you do so you own
your career you can be your own champion
and you can take control of that thanks
for watching if you liked this video
please consider supporting us on patreon
[Music]
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