So, for those of you who don't already know, I work as a developer for some big financial services company.

Today I had a conversation something like this:

Project manager:  NetRunner, can you tell me the requirements for the work you're doing for client XYZ?

NetRunner: Don't worry about it, I already have what I need.

Project manager: Oh.  Well, the manager of the QA department is asking me to put the requirements for you into the final requirements doc I'm giving him.

NetRunner: You realize he's pushing you for those requirements so that they're documented for me, don't you?

Project manager: Correct.

NetRunner: ... and you're asking me to document the requirements for you?

Project manager: He's going to chew me out if I don't give them to him.

Rude Fictional NetRunner: You want me to take time out of my day to do your job, so you can satisfy the mad QA guy who's only chewing you out because he's trying to stop you from doing exactly what you're doing right now?  Go fuck yourself.  Take notes next time you're on a requirements gathering call with a client!

Don't get me wrong, everyone has bad days, and I don't really blame the guy too much because he's been tossed into this situation without any training, and scarcely understands what I do, or what I need in the way of requirements.

But here's the thing, the reason why he doesn't know anything about what I do is because they laid off the entire team of PM's who used to work with my department. They didn't even bother to give them time to do any sort of cross training -- they were given their notices, and escorted out the building ASAP (for security reasons, naturally). This new group of PMs already had a full workload, and now they're way overloaded.

Why did they lay off the old group?  Good question. The old group of PM's were productive people with a full slate of work.  Our company's profits are through the roof, and we're seeing an uptick in client load due to bank consolidation.   The only reason given for the layoffs was "changes" in the economy.

This seems to be what Atlases everywhere are doing -- laying people off right and left, whether they need to or not.  The recession is the perfect excuse to try to thin out their payrolls, and squeeze the people who remain who are only willing to tolerate it because they're afraid of being without a job right now.

This, they would tell you, is simply driving efficiency.  More units produced / lower employment costs = $$$

The goal here seems to be to drive hours worked up, and wages down.  Gosh, what's it called when hours go all the way up, and wages go all the way down?

Apparently, it's called efficiency.