After ChatGPT disruption, Stack Overflow lays off 28 percent of staff::The popular developer forum is still hunting for a “path to profitability.”

  • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve seen so far on Leemy today that a bunch of people have been laid off from Bandcamp, Stack Overflow and Linked In. What the shit. Did the industry just decide to shrink today or something

    • edgemaster72@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m afraid I don’t have any good sources to back this up, but I’ve seen it said multiple times in other threads on similar layoffs that investment capital has dried up in tech, investors are starting to demand a return, which leads to companies doing layoffs to cut costs etc. I’m sure smarter people can come along and explain it better (if they so choose).

      • bassomitron@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s a result of the cheap (and during the pandemic, literally “free”) borrowing hayday of the last few years being over (they ended around 2022, when the Fed started jacking up interest rates and banks had to also increase rates in order to cover their loaned to liquidity ratios as required by law). As such, investors and businesses can’t just borrow a shitload of money cheaply, so what they choose to invest in is much more conservative and/or the ROI tantalizing.

        Also, in my opinion, the frenzy to dump millions into tech is mostly kind of over. The big dogs have gobbled up all the promising start-ups and potential disruptors and then some. AI is the “new” hotness, but all the companies that really have immediately viable products/services are already heavily invested in. There isn’t really anything that’s poised to come in and become the next OpenAI that’s not already owned by the bigger companies.

        Lastly, due to the first thing I mentioned, many folks believe we’re A) already in a recession or B) about to enter one in earnest. In either scenarios, investors tend to pull their funds into safer pots while they ride out bumpy economic waters.

      • somethingsnappy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The rich have way too much cash and desperately want another recession so they can buy cheap assets. Consumers, the overall job market etc. Are trending the other way and messing up the cycle of boom/bust. In this particular instance, I am fine with the layoffs… as long as they keep paying the people they laid off. Paying people whose jobs are automated should have started at least as early as the industrial revolution.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The rich have way too much cash and desperately want another recession

          Exactly. We’ve been hearing “there’s a recession coming, any minute now!” for YEARS, and yet every jobs report shows the economy is doing gangbusters.

    • pc486@reddthat.com
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      1 year ago

      Q3 just ended. These layoffs are because the books are not looking good. Everyone is hurting with inflation and higher interest, tech being particularly vulnerable to high interest rates.

      I can only hope the execs cut correctly. A second round of layoffs at a company can destroy morale enough to sink the company. Who wants to continue working at a place that fired your close peers, wondering if you’re next?

      • Fraylor@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        You can already tell they didn’t cut correctly, as they didn’t cut themselves.

        • pc486@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          They may have cut themselves. Usually high level cuts are announced as “leaving for an amazing opportunity” or to “focus on family” or similar. That happens a month or two later after a deep layoff round and reorganizing. We’ll see if these recent layoffs included executives by Q1 next year. Watch LinkedIn if you’re that curious.

          Still, it’s unfair to the lower levels, including line management, because they don’t get that option. It’s a “thank you for your service” and a boot out the door.

          Note: not all tech companies are like this. Gumroad is an excellent example of a very open and ran-differently business.

        • pc486@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          Tech has been in aggressive growth mode since 2008 because the Fed was handing out free money (interest rate lower than inflation). That allowed investors to dump money into tech businesses in hope of rapid business expansion, which in turn makes the business more valuable.

          The free money dried up. Now these tech businesses are going to find out if they’re sustainable.

      • foggy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Right? How is Machinima doing these days? They were once the biggest YouTube channel in all of esports. They had a few rounds of layoffs back between 2010 and 2013. Closed up in 2019. I mean it was more than morale, but it was writing on the wall.

        • pc486@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          I’m not familiar with that YouTube channel, but the story absolutely repeats itself. A business will eventually die if it cannot turn around its finances and cannot raise money.

          • foggy@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            not familiar with that YouTube channel

            Exactly. They were the 14th largest channel in the world (that belongs to 5 minute crafts now). They were #1 worldwide in gaming. (In 2014)

            And you’ve never heard of them.

            No such thing as too big to fail.

            IGN and G4 occupied Machinima’s enormous shadow.

    • Zeth0s@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The whole year. Companies who lied off (meta, google, Microsoft) and did stock buybacks had a huge boost on the market.

      Stock market is demanding layoffs, from even before chatgpt took over. That’s it. AI is just another keyword to push market price even further

    • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You’ll always see the stories of popular companies doing layoffs.

      But you rarely hear stories of tech companies going on massive hiring sprees. Because those stories don’t get clicks.

    • LiveLM@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      laid off from Bandcamp

      Fuck Epic for many reasons, but for this one in particular