2025.04.26 - Making Engineers More Productive?

I saw this headline today: "Intel confirms layoffs as it tries to 'make engineers more productive.'"

My initial reaction was to deride Intel for overworking people, which is almost certainly what they're doing. After layoffs, employees don't become magically more productive. They're probably working more hours with more stress because they have less help and are afraid of losing their jobs. But what if there was something more?

One of the reasons I prefer working at startups is because you get to dabble in everything. You're doing full stack development. You're designing product. You're writing marketing copy. You're strategizing. It's never boring.

When I've been at big companies, I've always felt a little siloed. You have your area of expertise and your team. Beyond that, your input is not always needed or welcome. At one of my jobs, a product manager and two software developers were responsible for a 300-pixel high section of a website. That was it. That was their entire job. How BORING that must be for everyone involved. (Maybe they liked it. I'm criticizing the system, not them. I simultaneously recoiled at the thought AND pondered the simplicity of life with such a narrow focus, but I digress.)

Perhaps, if it's done correctly, reducing headcount could create opportunities for engineers to broaden their daily experiences and expertise. New opportunities might create curiosity and fulfillment that was previously lacking. Reduced headcount might open the door for advancement. In turn, those engineers, newly energized, might become more productive.

So yes, I think it's possible reducing headcount could make engineers more productive in the best sense of the word. But it's still bullshit. Management wants more work for lower cost.

Maybe some engineer's life will be more fulfilled as a result. But it probably won't make up for the stress and overwork everyone will face. Not to mention the poor people who lost their jobs.

Anyway, that was today's exercise in being less cynical.