AI bet goes awry: Oracle fires 21,000 employees

Couldn’t happen to a better group of companies. Let them all beg for bailouts and be denied.

While I agree with the anti Oracle sentiment, that’s 21,000 employees that didn’t say they wanted AI BS. The suits and ceos that do this aren’t the ones that pay the price. It’s always the ordinary people like you and I.

I don’t think employees can really be separated from the company mission. They might not be the ones who benefit the most, but they still receive some benefit in exchange for producing the outcome.

People resign from roles on ideological grounds all the time.

We’re still throwing out morality platitudes on tech workers as we’ve watched since COVID as the tech sector at all levels has bled jobs, senior staff looking for positions for 2-3 years in some cases.

It’s impossible out there. I have moral objections to the way my company operates too but if I quit now my family will lose everything. I mean thankfully I’m not exactly crushing orphans in the orphan crushing machine but in a sane market I would look for something a little more aligned with my personal ideals. However just like buying a stick of RAM for a reasonable price, it just ain’t happening right now.

It depends on the level of your objection I guess.

“My family’s homeless but at least I’m not working for a corporation anymore”

“I chose a job that I find satisfying even though I could earn more if I sold out”

You’re still part of the corporate machine if you work at Walmart or McDonald’s, they won’t pay you enough to feed your family and I doubt the job is satisfying.

Like you do realise it was standard operating procedure in the US tech scene to apply for at least 400-500 jobs BEFORE the layoff craze that’s lasted years now, right?

It’s different in my country but it took me 3 whole months to find a new job when unemployed which was pretty bad compared to my previous experience. A bit later it took my friend a YEAR to get a new job. Now their boss is saying every engineer should be providing at least 3x value to customers using AI and they have no option but to stay at this job because nobody is hiring.

What do you want me to say?

“Its ok pet. Your kids will be forgive you.”

I suggest you try going and being homeless with your kid so you don’t have to work for any corporation.

They’ll be happier that way, then there’s no forgiveness to seek since you never failed them by working for a corporation.

False dichotomy.

No it’s not, because you’re advocating for people to be unemployed in an increasingly horrible job market.

I’m not advocating for people to be unemployed, you made that up.

Loads of people have jobs that align with their values.

Mate, I know people who are having trouble finding jobs at shops, let alone anything that pays enough for an adult with responsibilities to be able to afford to take it.

How many small businesses do you think are hiring these days?

You’re incredibly privileged if you think everyone can just afford to do whatever it is you do that you don’t benefit a single corporation. I assume you’re an artisan who crafts something out of materials you get from your own land or something.