Nowhere in your comment do you consider the possibility that some of these employees were doing something that just didn’t matter.

Unionizing is an option. Not necessarily an easy one, but it’s an option.

I don't think its a pure upside. Anyone wanting a job would join one of these layoff companies, of course, but anyone already in a job is going to be a bit more hesitant. I right now would not accept a role with a lot of these layoff companies, too risky.

I don't think that bad smell subsides that quick for everyone.

> Expenses go down, profit margin and share price go up.

Growth also goes down, which means more firings and rinse and repeat.

> What're the workers gonna do? Protest? Strike?

They're going to work for other firms, who have also simultaneously laid off staff. They will accept lower wages. Salaries will be permanently anchored lower, improving the cost structure of US software across the industry.

It's an effective coordinated move by firms against labor.

Interesting side effect here is that in order for staff to avoid a layoff, the benchmark is not whether they produce output in excess of the risk-free return -- it's whether their worth is greater than the long-term benefit of paying each new hire 30% less.

Workers can leave…

Know of a relatively well known brand that laid off a large chunk of it's tech staff and most / all the others are looking for routes out the door

Chunk of the tech leadership that took over after the original tech leadership was laid off have already found new roles