I'm seeing a *LOT* of layoffs.

[rcjordan]

https://electrek.co/2024/02/19/a-major-auto-supplier-for-tesla-vw-ford-to-slash-10k-jobs/

A major auto supplier for Tesla, VW, Ford to slash 10K jobs | Electrek
"The news falls days after major auto supplier Continental announced that it too was cutting its workforce by 7,150 jobs."

My feeds are tech-heavy, so the months-old layoff trend in tech is part of it, but I'm seeing it seep out to broader sectors.  I've also seen some heavy downsizing directly attributing it to AI.  And, the new unionization contracts haven't had a 'ceo reaction' take effect yet (Ford CEO says he's considering moving production).

[ergophobe]

This is a year old, but not irrelevant...

Once we pulled back from the drop in employment during the depths of the pandemic, there was a hot minute where labor had the upper hand over capital. That's not the normal state of affairs — it's called "capitalism" after all, not "laborism."

Tellingly, these layoffs have largely been confined to tech, a relatively small portion of the economy the media covers obsessively. Perception bests reality when headlines report a five-figure layoff every week, and nobody does the math on the broader employment picture. One of the great externalities in society is an ad-supported ecosystem that turns attention to capital, resulting in a catastrophizing of all media.

The chaser dropped on November 30, when every knowledge worker (reportedly) met their replacement: ChatGPT... n 2023, the new Bangalore may be ChatGPT.

https://www.profgalloway.com/disinflation/

What I was actually looking for and didn't find is Galloway or some others who note that one firm laying off 2,000 workers is huge news, but 2,000 firms hiring 4 workers each is not, so layoff headlines can be deceiving. It's better to look at overall wage and employment figures to understand just want sort of disturbance in the Force is happening - destruction or reallocation.

Note the graph in the above article though about tech pandemic hiring and post-pandemic layoffs. A lot of those firms are still "heavy" compared to Feb 2020

[Travoli]

>Galloway

I like his term for the big tech layoffs: "Patagonia vest recession"

[rcjordan]

https://apnews.com/article/estee-lauder-layoffs-china-8dcaa6ad11d6a6cf7f9247b28010ec1d
Estee Lauder to cut 3% to 5% of its employees after sales, profit slide in its most recent quarter | AP News

https://www.opb.org/article/2024/02/16/nike-plans-layoff-2-percent-global-workforce/
Nike plans to lay off 2% of its global workforce - OPB

https://bnnbreaking.com/world/china/maersk-faces-substantial-financial-downturn-amid-ongoing-operations-and-significant-layoffs/
Maersk Faces Substantial Financial Downturn Amid Ongoing Operations and Significant Layoffs

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/tech/riot-games-global-layoffs-intl-hnk/index.html
Tencent's Riot Games lays off 11% of staff globally, adding to job cuts in US tech sector | CNN Business


BUT...

https://english.news.cn/20240203/dd582f81f2d94d5fac4f95879478bedd/c.html
U.S. employers add 353,000 jobs in January despite wave of layoffs

[grnidone]

Just watched a TikTok of a Working Lady at the Mustang Ranch in Reno. Her paycheck last year was $92,000. The year before, her paycheck was $250,000.

The stripper index doesn't lie.

[DrCool]

Just got word of a round of layoffs at my company today. My team and I were not affected thankfully. Don't think it was a huge number of people but I know a few people who are gone. Mostly due to some organizational restructures and some positions were a bit redundant.

[ergophobe]

I'm glad to hear that you and your team were spared!

[DrCool]

>>I'm glad to hear that you and your team were spared

All in all it wasn't a big percentage of the employees. It is of course a significant number to those who were affected but in reality it is just a few handfuls of people here and there.

[rcjordan]

https://qz.com/layoffs-great-recession-inflation-big-tech-ai-1851318218

Layoffs reached the highest level since the Great Recession

[Brad]

This may amuse.  I understand this was written in response to all the corporate (especially Big Tech) redundancies.

Pivot to Decimation

https://remapradio.com/articles/pivot-to-decimation/