[The Editors' Verdict] The Developer Recruitment War Ends in Restructuring

[Asia Economy Reporter Myung Jin-gyu] At the beginning of the year, the most common thing heard when meeting executives from portal and gaming industries was, "We need to hire more developers, but even after significantly raising salaries, it's difficult to find them." Now, six months later, the conversation has shifted to "We are in a situation where we have to restructure due to deteriorating performance." Global big tech companies also competed in salary increases and recruitment until last year, but now they are competitively engaging in restructuring.

Netflix recently laid off about 500 employees within two months. Tesla fired not only new hires but also interns who had been working for just two weeks. Netflix cited a slowdown in growth rather than poor performance as the reason for restructuring. In Tesla's case, Elon Musk's "bad feeling" triggered the layoffs. This happened just two weeks after Musk mentioned, "I have a very bad feeling about the global economy," halted hiring, and said that a 10% workforce reduction was necessary.

In the United States, federal law adopts "at-will employment" as the principle for termination. Companies can fire employees at any time without special reasons. There is no severance pay or compensation. One day, with a simple statement, "You are fired," the contract ends. The reverse is also true. Employees can leave immediately if they find a better opportunity. Companies do their best to retain talented employees, and employees respond with maximum productivity, exchanging strict market logic.

In South Korea, companies must be well-prepared to conduct restructuring under similar circumstances. Labor law states that employees can be dismissed in urgent business necessity cases, but companies must try to avoid layoffs and are obligated to notify and consult at least 50 days in advance. Additionally, severance pay and compensation must be settled. Ultimately, it is almost impossible to lay off employees simply due to business difficulties or a "bad feeling." Therefore, the saying "Personnel is everything" is almost a rule. Because layoffs are difficult, hiring is done cautiously.

Regarding this difference, startup founders who have worked abroad say that the American-style at-will employment is a "reasonable system." Those with experience at American big tech companies mention advantages such as higher productivity due to the freedom of dismissal and more opportunities for salary increases and promotions based on employee evaluations.

Here is a movie and a book. The protagonist Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) in the movie In the Air is a "layoff specialist." Traveling across the United States, he notifies employees of their termination on behalf of employers, and those laid off cry and get angry in front of him. Ironically, from the perspective of Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), a new employee who developed an online layoff system using video conferencing, he himself is the one being laid off.

American journalist Jessica Bruder, in her nonfiction book Nomadland, traces the lives of "nomads" who live in campers and travel across the U.S. looking for work. A striking part is that Amazon operates a program called "CamperForce," recruiting nomads to handle the surge in volume during the Christmas peak season. After the year-end peak, Amazon lays them off, promising to return next year.

Amazon’s management staff call the sight of nomads leaving in campers and trailers the "taillight parade." Calling the endless trail of red taillights a cheerful parade is anything but cheerful.