All the angst is 100% manufactured by policy, LLMs wouldn't be hated if it didn't dovetail with the end of ZIRP, Section 174 specifically targeting engineer roles to be tax losers so others could be other tax winners, Macro Economic Uncertainty (which compounds the problems of 174.)
If ours roles hadn't been specifically targeted by government policy for reduction as a way to buoy government revenues and prop up the budgetary bottom line, in the face of decreasing taxes for favored parties.
This is simply policy induced multifactorial collapse.
And LLMs get to take the blame from engineers because that is the excuse being used. Pretty much every old school hacker who has played around with them recognizes that LLMs are impressive and sci-fi, it's like my childhood dream come true for interface design.
I cannot begin to say how fucking stupid the people in charge of these policies are, I'm an old head, I know exactly the type of 80s executives that actively likes to see the nerds suffer because we're all irritating poindexters to them.
The pattern of actively attacking the freedoms and sabotaging incomes of knowledge workers is not remotely a rare pattern, and it's often done this stupidly and at the expense of an countries economic footing and ability to innovate.