Pay aside, I wonder if the German automotive industry is just a particularly bad example. I've worked in Germany, Switzerland, Canada and now for an American company and I found that software companies aren't not that much different.
I've also worked for an automotive supplier in Germany and can understand where parent is coming from.
Software companies have vastly lower overhead. Their staffing and cost structure is completely different from a manufacturer. SV tech bros getting $200K+RSU starting salaries can't be replicated by other businesses.
