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Google has eliminated 35% of managers overseeing small teams in past year

(www.cnbc.com)
574 points frays | 3 comments | 27 Aug 25 21:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.708s | source
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AnotherGoodName ◴[27 Aug 25 22:01 UTC] No.45045883[source]▶
This was called the TLM role at google. Technical Lead/Manager. You were expected to code and manage a couple of more junior engineers.

It’s part of an effort to have dedicated managers and dedicated engineers instead of hybrid roles.

This is being sold as an efficiency win for the sake of the stock price but it’s really just moved a few people around with the TLMs now 100% focused on programming.

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corytheboyd ◴[27 Aug 25 23:13 UTC] No.45046446[source]▶
TLM role has always sounded like a trap to me, I would never say yes to it personally. I’m sure it’s sold as an expected 50% code, 50% management but everyone I’ve talked to who has been near it says the expectation is more like 80% code 80% management.
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xenotux ◴[27 Aug 25 23:34 UTC] No.45046592[source]▶
TLM roles are a trap, but not in that sense. There's no expectation that you do two jobs at once.

It's just a way to ease unsuspecting engineers into management. If you don't suck at management, your team inevitably grows (or you're handed over other teams), and before long, you're managing full-time.

Which means that there are three type of people who remain TLMs in the long haul: those who suck at management; those managing dead-end projects on dead-end teams; or those who desperately cling on to the engineering past and actively refuse to take on more people. From a corporate point of view, none of these situations are great, hence the recent pushback against TLM roles in the industry.

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1. jakevoytko ◴[28 Aug 25 02:50 UTC] No.45047808[source]▶
I mostly found TLM a disservice to people who reported to TLMs. They didn't have to earn a promotion as both an engineer and a manager at the same time, so many optimized for their own engineering promotion and any managing they did was out of the goodness of their hearts.
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2. greesil ◴[28 Aug 25 03:17 UTC] No.45047976[source]▶
People that selfish shouldn't be managing people.
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3. integralid ◴[28 Aug 25 06:48 UTC] No.45049196[source]▶
As a devil's advocate (I don't work in Google or in a similar role) but if the requirements for engineering promotion are similar for technical managers and engineers, while the first have to manage people then this is just how the system is set up. In this case I think blaming the system more than people is justified, and Google decided to dismantle the role for some reason.