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Comment by strawhatguy | Hacker News Reader

No kidding; in one of the most sought after jobs at one of the most recognized companies and get laid off after 16 years? The blogging on this like it’s new is crazy. I’m mean the automated email is bad, but hey, that’s the automated brave new world our profession has built.

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An automated email is unacceptable in any context there, even if they had only been there for a month. An automated email is a dishonest deflection from executives having to face the people their decision making affects.

I don't know an honest owner that wouldn't pull even their worst worker aside and tell them why they're fired at a minimum. I've seen CNC shops where the owner finds new jobs for the people they had to lay off.

Hold the wealthiest corps accountable.

Accountable for what exactly ? What happenes to "It's a private company, they can do whatever they want?" ?

*when what they want jives with what I want, of course.

The interesting aspect is the tech folks being laid off right now with automated email, could just as easily have developed the automated tools that automated the email. You have to wonder how many really spent much time outraged to the misfortune of those automated out of jobs by the software they develop (cashiers, accountants, entry clerks..)

I am not saying we should not write software, but don't go crying when the realities of capitalism come for your cushy privileged tech job too.

Tech is interesting in that it’s one profession that’s trying to automate itself out of a job.

I think automated emails for layoffs are par for the course; we don’t complain about tools like AWS that have automated whole swaths of stuff we used to have to do and manage ourselves…

Automated firing is just inevitable

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