FOR years, fawning profiles have assured us that tech titans like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are 21st century visionaries, not old-school corporate hacks – which is precisely why news of mass lay-offs at Twitter, Amazon.com and Meta Platforms is so jarring.

Far from cutting-edge, these lay-offs mark a revival of long-discredited corporate strategies. If the trend continues, history suggests these tech leaders will leave their companies severely crippled, at best.

Mass lay-offs originated in the 19th century, when large industrial concerns would cope with financial downturns or simple seasonal fluctuations by slashing payrolls – though they often hired the workers back when good times returned.