Comment by HardCodedBias

I think that the starting point is that productivity/developer has been declining for a while, especially at large companies. And this leads to the "bloated" headcount.

The question is why. You mention microservices. I'm not convinced.

Many think it is "horizontals". Possible, these taxes add up it is true.

Perhaps it is cultural? Perhaps it has to do with the workforce in some manner. I don't know and AFAIK it has not been rigorously studied.