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Are companies using AI just to justify trimming the fat after years of overhiring and allowing Hooli-style jobs for people like Big Head? Otherwise, I feel like I’m missing something—why lay off developers now, just as AI is finally making them more productive, with so much software still needing to be maintained, improved, and rebuilt?

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Theory --

A VP's job isn't hard because they have to manage 250 developers, A VP's job is hard because they have to manage the cognitive load of a vision for the equivalent of 250 developers worth of work. Same sort of idea with Product Manager's, Manager's, etc. If those developers are more productive, than great, you can do the same thing with more developers, but it's really hard to actually increase the number of products/business units etc. that you then have to market, PM/etc.

As for why not just increase quality? Probably because of diminishing returns.

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