The Microsoft memo portends the new reality of the technology industry. For years, the sector has been generous to its employees, offering unheard-of perks and placing a premium on skills such as software development. AI, however,inverts that relationship. As a result, we now face a different set of parameters.

- Loyalty has become a one-way street: Employees must be committed, but technology companies owe only “opportunities,” as and if they deem necessary.
- Layoffs will be used for strategic positioning, regardless of a company’s financial health.
- Profit provides an opportunity to invest in transformation, which sometimes involves eliminating jobs.

Don’t be surprised if normalization of profitable layoffs becomes the next big Silicon Valley export to broader economy. 

The Satya of Satya’s Layoff Memo – On my Om

Om Malik's latest newsletter is the latest in a series of posts that I read recently earmarking the end of the era of the companies fawning over their employees. I was joking with some friends the other day that the shift from "mental health" days (remember those) to just mental days was less than 2 years.

Yet, what I find saddest through all this is the utter loss of adulting through the process. These companies hired some of the smartest people, often iconoclasts, who thought of these companies as a path away from further orthodox institutions. Communications through these changes, including Sathya's essay is such a miss.

The simpler truth, the satya, was the right choice to communicate. Nobody likes being laid off. It's brutal, esp given the weird tie-up between employment and medical benefits in the US. However, I've found that most of these smart employees, when presented with reality are often particularly great at doing the right things and more importantly they champion accepting reality and often help through.

From that perspective, even though the rollout of Google's voluntary severance is particularly boneheaded, it's a good option to face reality for those that don't want to adapt.

For those that got laid off, I am sorry. I've been through a few and it's rough. However, remember that your layoff, nor your job, is your true worth. It may not be possible today, but soon, if you face reality, you will realize that you are one of the pioneers of a new wave of leveraging yourself many times over with these tools. You are ahead of 90% of the people still trying to cling on to a past that's eroding fast. Good luck. Here's an oar, start rowing. \o