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A comment on Google Announces 12K Layoffs: A difficult decision to set us up for the future. Parent comment

Re:Google Announces 12K Layoffs: A difficult decision to set... by lumost on Friday January 20, 2023 @10:25AM (#34454318)
Imagine you had a factory. During the boom years you hire extra engineers to improve the factory. These engineers busy themselves adding new production lines and creating more complex manufacturing processes to support products. 2 years later you sack the engineers.

You are left with more complex product and extra assembly lines. You aren’t sure which ones you need or are obligated to continue - so you run them all.

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Re:Google Announces 12K Layoffs: A difficult decision to set... by bumby on Friday January 20, 2023 @10:31AM (#34454400)
Is this meant to be an analogy for software production?

It seems like the crux is here:

You aren’t sure which ones you need or are obligated to continue

This is essentially saying leaders/managers don't know how to prioritize. What much of tech is doing right now is prioritizing by cutting back on the programs that aren't particularly successful. It's the same thing done in manufacturing.

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