The reigning narrative is that tech companies over-hired during the pandemic, and now they need to lay off a bunch of employees.
Some people say it's all a fake-money, low-interest-rate, butts-in-seats thing. Or an increased efficiency WFH thing.
Almost nobody seems to think the layoffs are related to AI. That makes me think: Are the layoffs related to AI?
The more I think about it, the more the layoffs definitely seem to be about AI. Over-hiring during a pandemic...? All of the reasons just seem flimsier and flimsier. They're offered reasons, not real reasons.
It's not just over-hiring during a pandemic. It's over-hiring during an era of cheap cash with insane demand that is now coming to an end and everyone knows it.
The fact is a lot of tech had a lot of bullshit that doesn't make money, which matters now.