
Tech Layoffs Surge Past 100,000  - dell9000
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/12/tech-layoffs-surge-past-100000/
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maien
100,000 is just a number in "tech" firms, which is a board category. 100,000
is a lot, but not really a lot compare to the current situation of the
economy. You should look at how many of those layoffs are strategic, and many
of them are just "cutting fats". I assume many company are using the time to
cut their fats.

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retyred
yup, and also for companies whose stock prices are depressed (all of them),
this is one of the only meaningful things they can do for investors in a
recession. and frankly they can rehire people later for lower wages...i see a
huge wave of salary resets going through the valley. developer wages were out
of control, at one point last year i wouldn't even look at anything under
$150k. now i have a lot of experience, but even i found these salaries absurd
for developers. thats going to change.

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dilanj
Does anybody know the percentage of coders in these numbers? I doubt the job
security/demand for a good programmer has changed at all.

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patio11
You could always work as a company employee ( _seishain_ ) at a major Japanese
company. They essentially can't fire you. You essentially can't quit.

In times of economic uncertainty, this sort of arrangement holds a lot of
appeal to people. Believe me though, oh boy, there are downsides to the
expectation that worker and company are joined at the hip forever.

A common opinion among my friends: "No matter how bad it is, above all, don't
quit. If you quit, you'll never work for a decent company again. You'll be
_hakken shain_ (temp) for the rest of your life, condemned to perpetually poor
conditions and ceaseless economic uncertainty. It would be like being
American, except with worse pay. _looks around_ Sorry, Patrick. When I said
like an American, I didn't mean like you. But you're not American, anyhow, so
its OK."

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mdasen
As bad as this is, I guess we've been luckier than many sectors. Here's to
hoping we are able to pull ourselves out and create a stronger and more
resilient economy for all.

