What're the workers gonna do? Protest? Strike? Hah. No, the remaining employees will pick up the extra responsibility and thank the employer for continuing to employ them.
They're going to work for other firms, who have also simultaneously laid off staff. They will accept lower wages. Salaries will be permanently anchored lower, improving the cost structure of US software across the industry.
It's an effective coordinated move by firms against labor.
Interesting side effect here is that in order for staff to avoid a layoff, the benchmark is not whether they produce output in excess of the risk-free return -- it's whether their worth is greater than the long-term benefit of paying each new hire 30% less.
I don't think that bad smell subsides that quick for everyone.
Know of a relatively well known brand that laid off a large chunk of it's tech staff and most / all the others are looking for routes out the door
Chunk of the tech leadership that took over after the original tech leadership was laid off have already found new roles
Growth also goes down, which means more firings and rinse and repeat.