Comment by twojacobtwo

Profits? I mean, I'm guessing the trend can't be wholly disconnected from the massive layoffs in the tech sector over the last year or so. Probably not the primary driver, but companies are always looking to maximize profits and, in the short-term, what faster way is there than by making cuts?

If a business sees a 15% productivity boost coming, especially with no easy plan in place to to utilize it fully for equivalent profit, someone near the top is already thinking that quick cuts could be an immediate 15% increase in reported profits for next quarter (in a 1:1 scenario).

I'm being a bit simplistic, but I think the general idea of business maximizing profits over output stands (or easy short-term thinking over more difficult long-term planning).