Let me show you some numbers that will make you want to flip a table.
Google in 2024:
- Revenue: $318 billion (record)
- Profit: $94 billion (record)
- Employees laid off: 12,000+
Microsoft in 2024:
- Revenue: $245 billion (record)
- Profit: $89 billion (record)
- Employees laid off: 10,000+
Meta in 2024:
- Revenue: $135 billion (record)
- Profit: $39 billion (record)
- Employees laid off: 21,000+ (over 2023-2024)
I'm not a math genius, but these numbers don't match the "we're cutting costs due to economic uncertainty" narrative.
The economy isn't uncertain. Their bank accounts are VERY certain. 💰
🎭 The Official Excuses
The CEO Word Salad: "Year of efficiency." "Aligning workforce to priorities." Rough translation: "Wall Street really likes when we fire people."
📈 What Actually Happened
- 2021: COVID boom. Infinite hiring. "Growth at all costs."
- 2022: Rates rise. "Free money" ends. Panic.
- 2023-24: Layoffs. Wall Street cheers.
- 2025-26: Record profits specifically because of layoffs.
Did you know? Tech stock prices typically rise 3-5% immediately after layoff announcements. The incentive structure is working perfectly. For shareholders.
🧮 The Math That Actually Maths
It is not complex calculus. It is simple greed.
If you fire 12,000 people who cost $200k/year, you save $2.4 billion. If your revenue keeps growing because the remaining engineers work twice as hard... Your profit margin explodes. Your stock soars. You get a bonus.
Why wouldn't they lay off people? The math adds up. It just optimizes for the wrong stakeholders.
🤡 The Corporate Gaslighting
What really bothers me is the messaging.
The email: "We're making difficult decisions... this is not a reflection of your performance... we wish you the best..."
The reality: You hit your OKRs. You got "exceeds expectations." You shipped features. You're laid off because a spreadsheet said so.
The CEO all-hands: "We're investing in AI and the future!"
The subtext: "We're replacing you with the future."
This is gaslighting at an industrial scale. They're not even pretending the performance mattered.
😤 The "Over-Hiring" Defense
I keep hearing: "Well, they did over-hire during COVID. This is just a correction."
Okay. Fine. Let's accept that.
Here's my question: Who made the decision to over-hire?
Was it the engineers who got laid off? Or the executives who made the hiring projections?
Did you know? The same executives who ordered mass hiring in 2021 ordered mass layoffs in 2023. Many got bonuses both times. One for "aggressive growth." One for "efficient restructuring." Neat trick.
🔮 What This Means for Your Career
If you're a tech worker in 2026, here's the reality:
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Loyalty is not rewarded. Companies will lay off 10-year employees to hit a number. Plan accordingly.
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Always be marketable. Keep your skills sharp. Keep your network warm. Your job is temporary—your career isn't.
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Negotiate equity carefully. Unvested equity disappears when you're laid off. Don't count on it until it's in your brokerage.
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Side income is insurance. Freelance. Consult. Build something. Don't have one company control 100% of your income.
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Don't take it personally. You're a line item. They're optimizing a spreadsheet. Your value as a person != your value to a corporation.
🎯 My Cynical Take
I used to believe in the tech industry's mythology.
"We're different." "We take care of our people." "We're all in this together."
Then I watched thousands of talented people get cut while their companies posted record profits.
We're not different. We're workers. They're employers. The power dynamic is clear.
I'm not bitter. I'm realistic. (Narrator: He's a little bitter.)
💼 The Silver Lining (Sort Of)
Here's the one positive:
Tech workers are resilient. The laid-off keep finding new roles, starting companies, building things.
The layoff wave exposed the lie of corporate benevolence. That's painful, but it's also clarifying.
We're not a family. We're professionals. Act accordingly.
Protect yourself. Build your skills. Trust the work, not the company.
The math ain't mathing. So stop expecting it to. ✌️
