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That is what I'm saying, it depends on the value of the process and the replaceability of a particular part/person (and to a lesser extent the value add of the person). The tech worker depends on their position in a process/system just as much as the IRS analyst to generate value but one is harder to replace than the other.
Only... Sometimes it other things disrupt this. Collective bargaining (and control over labour supply) and employers with employees in vulnerable positions are common examples, or people that are just too complacent/risk averse to effectively negotiate. People collectively overvaluing something is common as well.
I believe that people in tech (both employees and their employers) have been overestimating their value and replaceability/redundancy. There are still plenty of people in tech that actually are valuable and hard to replace and many of the people that are replaced are needed in other parts of the economy, but they might not command as high wages.
In the specific case of software engineer layoffs, replaceability isn't the issue. They weren't replaced. Their employers got rid of their positions and expected profits went up, which meant that whatever they were doing wasn't producing enough to pay their salaries. So, their mistake was not just to think they were irreplaceable, nor was it to neglect that other employees and capital were needed for them to their jobs.
They must not have understood that what they were doing was not nearly as valuable as they thought.
I agree.
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