On: Lenovo Is Laying Off 3,200

[tonyedgecombe]

High pay is a function of supply and demand in the employment market, not value created.

[vdaniuk → tonyedgecombe]

Only if the market conditions can be described as such that are close to perfect competition. When top employers collude to prevent poaching of employees (Google, Apple, etc) the opposite happens. Compensation is artificially kept low in the interests of megacorps.

[tonyedgecombe → vdaniuk]

That is a somewhat separate issue though and I believe it is outside the law.

[vdaniuk → tonyedgecombe]

It shows that compensation is not a "function of supply and demand".

[brador → vdaniuk]

You could add the indentured servitude of H1B visas to that list.

[vdaniuk → brador]

Sure. Long stock options vesting periods also decrease the opportunities for engineers to switch jobs.

[brador → tonyedgecombe]

It's a lot more complex than that. Missing, but vital, variables in your oversimplification include: Market lag, value perception over actual, price anchoring.

[tonyedgecombe → brador]

All true but expecting salary to mirror the value provided to the employer is like living in cloud cuckoo land.

An employer might make a million pounds from your work but if the going rate for the skills they need is £50K then that is what they will pay.